A Blessing Within A Curse
by iStarry
Summary: As Anastasia Caine turns 15 years of age, she's about to discover that not all things in the world are what it seems. The Caine-Delkos and Wolfes are creatures of the dark, Anastasia is a dhampire and Calleigh is a normal human. Part of NaNoWriMo 2011. :D
1. Prologue

**_A/N:_ I took a different approach, well. And it's for NaNoWriMo after all. :) Bonne lire!  
><strong>

**_DISCLAIMER:_ The CSI Miami and NY characters are taken by CBS, saying "they will be mine! they will be mine!" but the others characters are by yours truly. Bold, italics are the lyrics of Coldplay, and therefore I don't own them, even if I want to. :\ Credits to YUMGirlandMoltman for some of the characters. I hope there aren't any bad feelings. :  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Prologue: <strong>

Horatio's Point of View (will be using POV from now on):

_As night time comes around in Miami, mortals began to turn in for the night to dream of what happened today and what might happen tomorrow. However, there are creatures that would stay awake at this point of time and play their own games, where evil could stark around as it pleases, and where the hunters became the hunted. People call them the 'creatures of the dark'. _

_And I am one of them. _

_My ancestor, Elena, was the reason for my existence. A million years ago, she was banished from 'paradise' as a form of punishment for not obeying the most important command of all given by the creator: Thou shall not kill. As a result, she roamed the world alone, living an immortal life and taking lives away from mortals in the form of blood, which unfortunately, she could only consume. After spending a few decades on her own, suffering the pang of loneliness clinging on to her all those time, she finally found herself a mate and turned him into one of her, thus creating the population we have today. She has only made good friends with those now our cousins, the werewolves. We now depend on each other like peanut butter and bread. _

_I sat down, leaning against the tree branch for support after a long day at work. I closed my eyes, taking in the surroundings around me, from the sounds of heartbeats, slow and peaceful, to the quiet running of the waters from the lake a mile away from me. I took in a deep breath, letting myself feel 'human' for once. _

_It was in my nature to take the lives of mere mortals, to torture them a great deal before finally leaving them to suffer a slow and painful death. To see them looking into my eyes with a massive sense of fear, begging me for mercy, to let them go back to their families, and where they truly belong. Hope that they would live to see another day. The blood from them was meant to show who I really am inside of me;_

_A vampire._

_But I chose not to. I decided to turn against most of my 'brothers and sisters', along with a few others. The Elders, they who have been in power for as long as I have been living in this world, were not very happy with my view on the world and especially humans, most of all Rick Stetler, as they thought that humans should only be used as slaves or as food. I love living alongside humans, being able to greet them with a 'good morning' every single day and to be able to have a little conversation with them regarding life, rather than hunting them out of hunger. They taught me the true meaning of joy and peace, but most of all love, in which vampire's themselves can't. _

_When I met Marisol at a crime scene, my heart, if I had one, felt as if it was fluttering. That was the first, and only time I thought I fell in love. I had come back to Miami, pouring myself into work after losing my only fiancé, Mandy, at that time. I thought love will never find it's way back to me again, but after meeting her, my conscience just changed its course. The thought of her in my mind only brought a big grin into my face. _

_Even though the elders and my "ex-girlfriend" Casey didn't agree to give me their blessing for having Marisol's hand in marriage, I would still ask for it anyway. I have usually listened to their words, to follow their direct orders and keep out of their path, but this time they have no reason to force me to live my life the way they want it, even if they used force. It was the first time I talked back to the leader of the Elders, Aaron, and it took some time before the two of us arrived at an agreement._

_The Elders finally gave their blessings when another one and only female Elder, Yelina, told them that Marisol was pregnant with a _dhampire_, our daughter. Apparently, dhampires are the most powerful creatures between humans and vampires, for he or she has the ability of super human strength and speed, but she is able to go out into the sun without the aim of a ring, something that most vampires have ever wished for their entire lives. That meant more people may plan to use it to their advantage. Something I promised to protect her from as her father. _

_Casey didn't take it well, the week before the meeting with the Elders, we met and chatted for a while. Her face flipped upside down immediately when she heard that Marisol has been pregnant, her jealousy flaring a great deal. She continued to persuade me to go back to her side, explaining to me all the down sides of pregnancy, but I only see that as a blessing. She tried all sorts of things to separate us from each other, physically and emotionally, making us lose faith with each other. A few months before Anastasia, my daughter's, entrance into the world, Casey kept on giving nightmares towards as a form of torment. She even sent some of her men to steal Marisol away from me, in the hopes of making me go back to being her boyfriend and love. If not for Frank and my CSI team, she would probably be in heaven, along with the fetus inside of her._

_Grey was my old nemesis and was also one of the guys that Mandy was asked to choose from when she had the chance. He had loved her deeply, but she was oblivious to his tell-tale signs and chose me instead. Ever since the day Mandy died, he had been making my life feel miserable._

_He had even gotten Jack, one of Marisols best friend's boyfriend to kidnap Marisol and brought her into his hiding place, even when she was pregnant with my daughter, our child, for a few weeks, where he tortured her immensely for days. I didn't even want to think about the things they could have done to her, least of all the things they did to her sexually. I couldn't even wrap around the fact that they have locked her up in a small cell, complete with walls and without windows for ventilation. I've almost killed him when I met him in his house a few days later, all thanks to the trackers and the strong bond that Marisol and I shared together. I was about to kill him when the elders told me to bring Marisol into safety, which is important, but that meant a great chance for Grey to escape and disappear into thin air. I regretted not snapping his head off when I had the chance. _

_The family I have always wanted in my whole two hundred years of existence. A family of my own and I let it slip away. I blamed myself for making that mistake, vowing never to do it ever again, now being extra careful by making calls on and off work just to make sure they are safe and accompanied by people that I trust._

_I was disturbed by the cracking on some branches, the crunching of leaves, and the constant lapping of something liquid by tongues, causing my head to snap up, looking at my surroundings. It was dark under human eyes, but it was as bright as it was in the day for me. I began to scan the area, only to find three deers drinking water from the river, lapping their tongues on it, and two munching on some grass near the trees. I took in a deep breath, making sure of myself, but my mind brought me back to a constant, dreamlike state. _

_My mind drifted back to the place that we now called 'home', from where we have had moved to when Anastasia is born, and to our lovely daughter herself. I could still remember the years growing up with her, to overcome life's challenges and problems with her. We do fight with each other at times about the little things, but we do still love each other in the end. _

_Her fifteenth birthday is coming in a few days, and that is my biggest worry. Yelina told me that most of the powers of the dhampire will be released when he or she reaches fifteen years of age, which would mean that she will be more obvious to vampires and werewolves everywhere as they could sense more energy bursting out of her. I feared for her future, of what she might become, of the dangers that lie in front of her, just waiting to pounce on her when they had the chance. _

_It was my destiny to save the humans from the rogue vampires, to bring peace and strengthen the bonds between the supernatural and natural beings. And now it is her turn to carry on the torch, as we continue on our marathon of life. The torch of upholding the good and banishing the evil, the torch of everlasting peace where man and vampire walk together, hand in hand. _

_She has been choosen to come into the world, to help me continue the legacy. She is going to be a warrior, and a mighty one at that. One that the good vampires and werewolves would bow their heads in respect when she is around, one they could trust when everything seemed hopeless, just like a respectable new hero in the comic book. _

_There will be no purpose for me by then. I'll be sitting in the sidelines, watching as she lead the army every single day on for the rest of her life, occasionally advising her on the important things along the way. I'll be able to fully experience life with my beloved wife, to be able to wake up every morning with her around my arms, thinking about our time together, rather than worrying for the people. To spend most of the time together, to go and venture places where we had never been before. And when the time comes, it will be time where I would have to leave my existence all together. I don't believe in heaven, but I do believe in a place where tired souls would rest when their time had come. But now is not the time. _

_I smiled to myself, standing up quietly so as to not to startle the deers, or my dinner in other words. Feeling confident, I let out a sigh of relief, ran my hand through my blonde red hair, and stared at the scene in front of me. _

_She is __**The One**__. And I have done what I have been destined to do. _

"_**One day, death is going to conquer me,  
>I'll be down where the waters flow,<br>I hope sweet Heaven is the place for me,  
>Let me know, boys, let me know."<strong>_


	2. Chapter 1

****_**A/N:**_**What up people! Sorry I haven't been able to post lately because I'm wrapping up before NaNoWriMo officially ended. There are still some of the scenes that I haven't done, but I'll try my best to finish them. So enjoy this chapter. :D  
><strong>

**_Disclaimer: _Let's be honest. I don't own the characters for CBS and Coldplay Lyrics. And some of the credits go to YUMGirlandMoltMan. Go check it out! :) Now here we go:**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Anastasia's Point of View:

_October 20__th__, 2011_

_Dear Diary,_

_Hey, it's me again. Aunt Calleigh bought me this for my birthday, which I've just celebrated my fifteenth just a week ago. The diary was beautiful, with lines just big enough to write my very own handwriting, and leather cover to prevent it from getting dirty. Probably the best companion a teenager growing into an adult must have, well, that's what Aunt Calleigh told me anyway._

_The birthday celebration has been a lot of fun. All of my friends have been really nice to me. They came towards my house and threw eggs at me. Hang on, you think that's mean? You're just being silly. Throwing eggs has been a culture to wish the person good luck on his or her birthday, so it's sad to say this, but I wished more people were throwing eggs at me. Big brother Kyle couldn't come to celebrate it with me, but at least he emailed me a "love-birthday" message two days beforehand. _

_However, that's not the part that bothers me. The party went well, but for some reason, my parents, Horatio and Marisol Caine, weren't happy throughout the day. So were Uncle Eric and Aunt Calleigh. For some reason they have been silent, only opening their mouths to speak when we're singing the 'Happy Birthday' song. It's as if they didn't want me to be growing up, reaching their unlucky number fifteen. They even left the room for my friends and me to celebrate. I thank my parents for letting me enjoy the privacy at times, but that is a little intriguing, don't you think?_

_What? I've forgotten to introduce myself all this time while I write the diary? My bad. I'm Anastasia Caine, but you can call me Anne instead if you're getting tired of repeating my name over and over again. I happen to have the tomboy attitude, mostly from my father, so you'll probably find me skating in the park, reading a book in the National Library, or at home listening to my iPod and drawing unnecessary things. People have always called me a freak or a hybrid for having a Caucasian father and a Cuban mother, but I don't really care. I've always loved science when I was young, and therefore I like to see things around the world from a different perspective. _

_I'm the daughter of the famous Miami Dade Crime Scene Investigator Lieutenant Horatio Caine and his wife Marisol Delko-Caine, who happens to be one of the best lawyers the Miami sands could ever offer, a wonderful niece (or so I heard) of Eric Delko, and a naughty little half-sister to Kyle Harmon._

_My father is a very serious person. He rarely smiles, but when he did, it was only because he caught the culprit for the case or it's just because he's weird. He spends most of his time devoted equally to work and his family and cares less for money. He currently leads the team of Crime Scene Investigators in the Miami Dade Police Department, and I must say their job is probably the coolest thing in the world. They have a super high-tech lab complete with its equipment. Maybe I'll go there to do one of my science projects someday. _

_Uncle Eric works under him, and is sometimes really bad with jokes. He kept on bugging me with jokes he found on the internet every single day, and he was the one who smashed a whipped cream pie on my face, but all in all he is a good person. He's currently dating his colleague and my father's employee and close friend, Aunt Calleigh, and she tends to come over to our house to have dinner. I've always looked up to her as my second mother, only going to her when I have really bad problems that I can't tell my mother. _

_I love Kyle as a brother. I know he is always beside me, standing up for me when others are planning to pull me down or make fun of me. He even helped me when I have difficulties for my Mathematics homework. Even though he may be far away from me in Afghanistan doing his civil duty work, he never fails to chat with me through the internet late at night and tuck me into bed. But lately, he hasn't been replying my messages to him, and his email confirms that he has to be out in the fields surveying for new grounds they have to cover, which meant he wouldn't have the time and the connection to chat with me. I just wished he is all right, wherever he may be. _

_I do have to salute my mother at times. She was shot by the Molo Noche, had leukemia so bad that she had to take marijuana to prevent from being nauseous ( I'd still don't believe her taking the marijuana for some reason), and even gave birth to me. She's also a beautiful woman, one that I've admired of and would love to be someday, except for the part where I have to wear skirts, dresses and very high heels shoes. I still can't believe a woman as pretty as her could become a lawyer, encouraged by father to continue her Law Degree after the cancer has stop spreading, and she was beginning to recover, strangely quicker than a normal human being._

_The weird thing is, she didn't really have the scars to prove she has gone through what she had done. And the fact that her skin, just like my father, is as pale white as porcelain and as cold as ice when I touch it, which unfortunately, is __**MOST**__ of the time. They also had the habit of "smelling me out" when I came home from school, sniffing around my body especially around my neck, saying it was some "security measurement". Once every week they would ask me to drink this cup of red liquid which tastes delicious ever since I was five years old, but they wouldn't tell me what it is, and they'd like to go out on even nights, sometimes with Uncle Eric, to the woods. _

_Come on. You're not kidding me are you? You think vampires __**DO**__ exist? I don't believe you. Must have been those vampire novels and movies freaking you out. Besides, with me being a scientist, maybe one day we'll find out the truth together, and it'll be the greatest breakthrough in the entire world!_

_Ooh, got to go. Code red. We wouldn't want anyone else to read this, would we?_

_Cheers! Your Best Mate._

I closed the book immediately as a head popped out of the door and into the room. It was Mother, "Hey Anne, What are you doing?"

"I... ugh..." I mumbled as I quickly hid the diary under the pillows. "…writing stuff in my notebook, a really nothing much."

_Don't fool me Anastasia, I know what you did. I'm just checking to see if you've written nice things about me, _Mother smiled as she closed the door behind her and went to sit next to me on the side of the bed.

"I still don't understand how you did that… telekinesis thing. How are you able to send me thoughts? Why can't I send them?" I crossed my arms and glared at mother, only to receive a chuckle in return.

"In time my daughter. In time," she smiled and stuck her tongue out me.

"You said that **ALL** the time. You know my curiosity is driving me crazy!" as I sighed as I waved my arms at her, questions still going around my head when a cold touch brought me to my attention, and surprise; I turned around to face my father, who was smiling at me. "Dad, please don't do that. It's freaking me out."

My father pulled me closer to him, embracing me tightly and wholeheartedly, "Why can't I do that? Don't you love the elements of surprise?"

I mumbled against his shirt, with his hand running down my brown-blonde hair, "Not **THAT** kind of surprise."

My father laughed softly as he lets go of me, "So, what's it like being fifteen years old?"

"Very Normal. I wasn't expecting a ray of light beaming down on me, angels sending down to sing in holly voices at me, and suddenly gaining powers I have never had before," I shrugged as my parents smiled at me.

"You've been watching way too many cartoons, young lady," my mother moved her index finger from side to side in my direction.

"What can I say? I didn't have a boring childhood," I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, you did have a bright and cheerful childhood my pumpkin," father soothed my back and mother went on to massage my shoulders, her brown eyes gazing directly in my direction. "Can you come over to the lab after school tomorrow?"

"Hmm? Now why is that?"

"I'll be busy with some clients tomorrow. And the trial commences in two days time, so I have to prepare myself. There are also a lot of cases brought into the day section of the Crime Lab and father may have to be out in the fields more often, along with Uncle Eric and Aunt Calleigh," mother brought my head closer to mine.

"I can always cycle home, you know, save the earth and stuff," I smiled at them. "You don't need someone to babysit me, and you don't need to worry about me. Besides, I'm already fifteen years old. I'm capable of doing things by myself, thank you very much," I told her truthfully. It's just like animals, or in fact, any living thing in the world, because at some point of their lives they may have to leave their parents and live life independently, and that is not what they are teaching me at the moment.

"You don't know what danger lies ahead of you. Danger that can catch you by surprise, even when you have least expected it. I can't tolerate that as a father. I need to have a sense that you're safe," I rubbed my eyes for a second. Did father's eyes just glow bright blue for a second before returning back to its original dark, navy blue state? My eyes must have been playing tricks on me. Feeling tired, I nodded my head in agreement.

"All right then, I'll have Calleigh pick you up tomorrow and bring you towards the lab as soon as you finish school," I continued nodding my head as I laid myself on the pillow and pulled the blankets towards me.

"You're not going to stay up late at night since you're a young lady, are you?" father grinned mischievously at me, prodding me in my ribs, cocking his head to the side, which is so-called trademark move.

"No thanks. For this time, I'd like my baby nap time if you please," I hesitated, feeling bad for disobeying my parents, but pushed his hand away from me anyway. "Good night." I closed my eyes, waiting for exhaustion to take over me.

I felt two sets of lips pressed against my forehead before I was taken into a deep slumber, where I get to enjoy the goodness of the dream that was about to be given to me, "Good night, our dearest beloved daughter."


	3. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_**I'm glad that today's the 28th of November and that NaNoWriMo is going to be over in 2 days time, and I have finally finished this! :D Unfortunately though, it's a short story. The length of words isn't enough to make it a novel, so hopefully that is my new goal I would have to reach next year. So enjoy the new chapter! **

**_Disclaimer: _I don't own the characters by CBS and YUMGirlAndMoltMan, cause both of them deserved the credit. And so is the lyrics for the Coldplay songs. They are pretty awesome. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong>

Anastasia's POV:

Instead of the usual weird dreams containing no more than centipedes and donkeys, I was greeted by a vivid nightmare:

_I walked into a room that only contained walls, to find bodies littered on the floor and blood splattered everywhere, just as if it had appeared in the Final Destination or a Saw Movie. The room was eerily quiet, with the smell of death and evil lingering in the air. I ran towards one of the bodies and started examining on them, while hoping for signs of life, survival, "Hello sir! Are you all right?"_

_He was lifeless, like something, or someone, has drained the life out of him and all the others. His face is ghastly pale, and that there are no dried bloods around the body. There are scratches that signify a fight going on between them before he died an unfortunate death, but what truly caught my attention was that all I could see is the two distinct puncture wounds located at the crane of his neck, which obviously couldn't have fitted a needle. The realization hit me;_

_It was bite marks. It couldn't be a vampire, could it?_

_The next second a gush of wind brought me away from the room and instantly standing against a mirror, only coming face-to-face with a giant, lean build, pure white, female wolf. Its fur looked so smooth and silky; you can actually feel as if you're running your hand through it. I opened my mouth, and the wolf did the same, briefly showing fangs full of blood and dried bits in between them. As I screamed and backed out of the mirror, the wolf roared like a lion and did the same. _

_Unexpectedly, a black, mutated hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a whirlpool of darkness, dragging me deeper and deeper into the unknown. I couldn't breathe, couldn't scream for help. I hoped for a miracle, and a light instantly shone above me. In a flash, I zoomed up towards it, the light shining brighter and brighter as I got closer and closer. _

I woke up to find that I was in my own bedroom, drenched in sweat. Mother and father have had probably heard my screams and so called "heartbeats going faster by the second", because the door leading towards my bedroom immediately swung open and I was in my mother's arms.

"Anne sweetheart, are you all right? We heard you screaming your lungs out and we immediately came here. What's wrong honey?" Mother began rocking me back and forth, while running her hand along my hair, soothing me as if I was a year old, and it worked.

I told them about the dream, about the horror in the room and the wolf in front of me. About the two puncture wounds that resembled so closely to a vampire. Mother looked into my eyes; her brown one's full of worry, and Father looking out of the window, gazing at the surroundings of the Delko-Caine house. One look made me realize that they were expecting it.

"Get ready for school, Annie. I'll be downstairs if you need me," Father ordered me with a slightly menacing tone in his voice as he abruptly went outside the door, slamming the door shut behind him as we both heard footsteps walking away.

I turned to look back at Mother, "What is going on? Why is dad acting this way?"

She would usually answer every question I had in mind, be it in school work or my daily life, which mostly includes the subject of boys, but ever since my fifteenth birthday, both of my parents have, spaced out. Especially father. I've started to get worried for them, about the big secret they are trying to hide from me.

Instead, Mother shook her head at me and looked out of the window, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. There's so much to be told, but I can't tell you now. The time will come."

It could only intrigue me even more, "What do you mean the time will come? You haven't answered any of my questions since my fifteenth birthday! What is the meaning of this? Are you to planning to get rid of me or something?" I bombarded her with more questions, each of them more painful than the last.

Mother was a strong woman, but this time her walls just, break loose, after all the questioning I gave her a week ago. Tears streamed down her face as she looked down on the floor. I noticed a red substance building up on the floor. It looked to be the same consistency as blood. "Mom, are you all right? Are you **crying** blood?" I edged closer to her, letting my scientist instincts take over me as I reached out my hand to touch her cheeks. Instead, she just slapped it away, before soothing it as a way of saying sorry.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'll be down in the kitchen doing the dishes if you need me," Mother quickly stood up, glancing at me once more, revealing the blood stained tears ruining her gorgeous face and smile, before running out of my room in a flash. I sat on the bed once more, pondering about what had happened a few minutes ago.

Firstly, there's the dream that left me speechless. It felt like it was so real, as if I have had a sense of déjà vu, like I have experienced this before. The wolf in the mirror, what is that supposed to mean? Then there's my dad's sudden departure out of my room. It's as if he knows something, and he's very unhappy about it. Could it be personal?

And what about Mother? The tears of "blood" streaming down her face? That's not common for someone who have had survived cancer and is recovering. It couldn't have been because of the medicine given to her either. I grabbed some cotton buds from the drawer of the night table and swabbed the blood, keeping it in a sealed container until I reached to the lab. I don't think they wouldn't mind letting me play their machines for awhile.

As these questions continue to surround my mind, I got up from the bed, walked up towards the bathroom door, pulling my "blues clues" towel, and stripped myself off these clothes. I went towards the shower, turning it on and feeling for the right temperature and pressure before going in. The constant pour of the little droplets from the shower seems to soothe my back, taking away all of the stress that I have been receiving from day to day, be it in school, or in this case, family. The heat even helps to calm down my nerves, enabling me to take deep, slow breaths, to focus on the day ahead of me.

Little did I realize life is going to get even more interesting.

"_**When she was just a girl,  
>She expected the world,<br>But it flew away from her reach, so  
>She ran away in her dreams,<br>And dream of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise,  
>Dream of para-para-paradise,<br>Every time she closed her eyes."**_

Ryan's POV:

The alarm clock buzzed and I moaned, annoyed for the disturbance of my sleep, as I tried to press the alarm clock's snooze button, only causing it to break out into little pieces, littering both the night table and the floor.

"Shoots, there goes my twelfth alarm clock this year," I grumbled to myself. _So much for helping me wake up from my slumber._

I sat up straight from the side of the bed, letting my eyes take in the light from the sun as it rises above the horizon. I ran my hand across my raven hair, as I sighed to myself. "Today's the day I start a new life." At that moment, my mind instantly flew back to when I was doing patrol:

"_Ryan, you are capable of doing something better than this. You're born to be an alpha! Alpha's don't do speed tickets and patrolling! And tell me you have settled your gambling debts. Look what the Russian Mob __**DID**__ to you! Do you honestly think they wouldn't do it again?" my father, Don Wolfe, slammed his left fist on the table, causing a little dent on my favorite coffee table, along with a few bruises on his knuckles. His normal brown eyes glowing crimson red with a slit in the middle as he glared evilly at me. His fangs protruded out of his mouth for a second, before disappearing back into his mouth. My mother, Jessica Wolfe, was nowhere in sight, probably down in the kitchen trying to avoid my father._

_I stood up, anger flaring within me for what he was forcing me to do when I don't want to, and for destroying __**MY**__ stuff. The stuff that I've earned for saving and helping people around my neighborhood, even without his help or encouragement, "You can't tell me what to do father, __**IT'S MY LIFE AND I DON'T CARE HOW PEOPLE WANT ME TO LIVE**__! Just treat me like a reasonable adult and I'll fix __**ALL **__of this!"_

_Father laughed hysterically, almost falling onto the ground with laughter, "You think you have a way in life son? Getting things done the way you wanted it to be? I was like you when I was your age, smart, talented, and oblivious to this whole 'werewolf' thing because I thought science can't prove its existence. One day, I came to regret it, as it caught up on me. Your mother was almost killed letting in on my secret, and I regret not noticing what is happening to me, and how it affects my life, my vision of the future. As my only son, I don't want you to suffer the same fate."_

_I paused for a moment, digesting what was brought up to me. Me, a werewolf? Sure, my name is Ryan __**WOLFE**__, but it does not literally mean anything now does it? My ancestors are actually _lycanthropes_, or werewolves, the supposedly creatures of the night and the protectors of human beings against the rogue vampires?_

_Father eyed me for a second, understanding what I have been going through, "I know it's hard to believe son, but eventually you'll get the whole story. There's time for everything. You'd just need to prepare yourself for what is heading towards you, your transformation, your anger issues, your secret…"_

_I looked up at him, fear shown in my eyes, fear for the future, fear for the safety of others…_

…_fear for my conscience._

"_So what do I do now father?"_

The scene halted and I was brought back into the present. My father has given me specific information about finding one of the Miami Dade Police Department's chief investigators, also known as Lieutenant Horatio Caine. He told me that Lt. Horatio was one of the good vampires that are willing to help the werewolves in time of trouble, existing in this world for almost 200 years. It's a mystery how he could end up being a Crime Scene Investigator in such a sunny state. The trip from my hometown in New York towards Miami have had been agonizing, but I knew this was for the best.

My bottom was unwilling to push myself up, but eventually I managed to get over the laziness and head into the shower to freshen up and get ready for my first day in my new job. As I looked over at the mirror while tying my tie, I reminded myself of this:

I am Ryan Wolfe, and now I am going to live my life as the next generation of the alpha for the pack.


	4. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_** Oh Yeah! xD French Class today was a blur, but then again I managed to come back home safe and sound, and now I can post a new chapter. Whoopee. Thanks if you managed to stop by and actually continue on the story. :) I'm glad that you enjoyed it. **

**_Disclaimer:_ I don't own the characters from CSI Miami and YUMGirlandMoltMan and neither the lyrics from Coldplay. I'm just bringing out their ideas, expressing it differently.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter<strong>** 3:**

Anastasia's POV:

The drive to school has been agonizing, with the constant sounds of car horns and the raging traffic jams to start the day off. To prevent myself from getting bored, I plugged my earplugs into my iPod, and pressed play. 'U.F.O' by 'Coldplay' immediately sounded in my ears.

"_**Lord I don't know which way I am going,  
>Which way river may flow,<br>It's just seems that upstream, I keep rowing,  
>Still got a long way to go,<br>Still got a long way to go."**_

As the song made its way into the chorus, the familiar greeting of the gate brought me back to reality, along with the cold sense of touch mother had when she touched my shoulders, bringing it with me a shock as my shoulders tensed and relax in a second.

"We're here honey. You sure you don't want us to accompany you to school and into the classrooms?" mother looked at me; eyes brimmed with concern for a mother to her child.

"Mom, dad, you guys are amazing, and I know you both loved me so much in this entire universe, more than anything, but I'm **FINE**. Do you remember what happened last year in my old middle high school? The whole school, **literally **the whole school looked at the three of us! No one dared to befriend or even sit near me because they are scared of you two," I chuckled softly as I grabbed my Nike black with blue outlines bag and my school sweaters, about to open the door.

"Are you sure about that? A boy almost 'bumped' into you, and people made fun of you with names!" father glared his famous 'Horatio glare' straight at me, hoping that I would be able to change my mind and let them go with me. I rolled my eyes, as I kissed my parents on each of their cheeks and opened the door.

"I couldn't have been surer than ever. And bullying does happen in school, dad. It's meant to be ignored. And besides, I don't care what people thinks about me when it comes to criticisms, and that's all that matters," I stepped out of the car, and looked up into the clear blue sky, sighing of what is going to happen for the next one year. Before father could respond, I turned to look back at them, "Don't you 'hey miss' me, dad. You're going to be late for work. Bye."

And with that I closed the door with a small thud, turning to look back towards the creepy, old building. It is my first year, also known as the junior year, in high school. The buildings may have cracks and holes in its brick walls, the walls painted a dull brownish red that has stain marks after the constant showering of raindrops throughout the years, and the doors have certainly looked as if they have suffered massive blows or kicks day by day, but at least it is comforting to me.

I'm too used to seeing this when I am at home. It was all only furnished in black and white, as if there was no happiness or liveliness in the house. Well, except for my room that is, with its light blue painted walls and a mixture of colours decorating the room from my favorite bean bag to the 'Top Gear' and 'Big Time Rush' posters that decorate half of my room. My parents thought it wasn't a good idea, so it took quite some time and persuasion before finally giving in to my demands.

As I opened the door into the hallway, eyes began looking in my direction. Girls in cheerleaders costume looked at me with disgust, before turning back to continue their conversation with each other, as they tried to put on their makeup with the help of the mirror. I knew they probably wouldn't stand the sight of a tomboy. I didn't like their presence anyway. And I certainly didn't plan on wearing short skirts and talking bad about other people behind their backs.

The boys looked at me for a second, before looking away when I turned to look at them. It is as if I was an alien from Mars landing unexpectedly in planet Earth, and the humans looking at me with curiosity lingering in their brains. My awkward level continues to rise as I walked down the hallway, looking for the General Office. I glanced at the sign "School Office" before making a right turn at the next corner.

The General Office, or "School Office" as it is written, was a small room from the outside, but it changed my perspective all together when I opened the glass doors leading into it. It was as if I were to be in a tunnel train in New York, with desks lining up in three neat rows. The receptionist looked up from her work and smiled at me, making me feel at ease. "Hello there, sweetheart, how may I help you?" She was a lady in her forties, with a few strands of white hair to prove that. She was wearing a normal creamy blue blouse, with a black long skirt.

"Hi there. I'm Anastasia Caine, and I'm here on my first day of school," I smiled at her as I took out my file from my bag and began flipping papers, looking for important documents to be handed into the receptionist.

She opened a small folder containing the names of the new students entering the school, fixing her glasses before running her finger down the list, hoping to see my name in it. After a few flip of the pages, she finally found it. "Ah. Anastasia Caine, your name is here. Let me get you your classes slip which you need to see the teachers, to let them know you're officially here, and your directions of the school, so you know where each class is."

She began handing me pieces of paper, in which I placed it inside my file for safe keeping. "Oh, and your orientation program should be starting in about ten minutes or so. It is held in the Multi Purpose Hall, so be sure to be there on time!"

I placed the file back inside my bag, the map of the school in my hand. "All right, thank you so much," I smiled at her before heading towards the door.

"You're welcome," her voice ringed in my ear as I opened the glass door and walked back into the hallway, with the slip of paper in my hand.

Horatio's POV:

After sending my daughter to school, I immediately turned the Hummer right back onto the streets and out of the school compounds. I glanced at Marisol, raising an eyebrow, before looking back onto the streets and traffic in front of me. "Of all the schools we could have sent her in the whole of Florida, why send her there?"

Marisol smiled as she looked out the windows, creating a dramatic atmosphere between the two of us, "Horatio, you wouldn't understand, but that school is where most of my best memories come from, apart from the memory between the three of us, of course."

"You mean you've studied in that school? I heard that it is really hard to get accepted into that school nowadays," I laughed as I began taking over a white Volkswagen van, only to receive horns and shouts of curses from the owner.

Marisol poked my cheeks with her index finger, before looking out into the road, "Yes, it is very hard, but you have seen her results there sweetheart. More A's then I've ever gotten in my end of year examinations. Most schools would love that. And besides, I know of someone who could help Anne get in."

I have had the feeling I've known the person before, and the two of us laughed instantly, something the both of us shared.

As the familiar sign of 'Delko Lawyer Firm Ptd,' Marisol let out a big sigh. "We're here, sweetheart."

I grinned widely, wanting to stop the Hummer and kissed her on the lips so hard, but was disciplined not to, _We're here._

She crossed her arms and chuffed as if she was a ten year old, "I wish the trip would take longer. I'll be missing you for the next ten hours!"

I made a turn into the roundabout and drop off point, stopping in front of the main doors and pulling the handbrakes, before unbuckling my seatbelt and pulling her towards me, "Don't worry, sweetheart. I promise to finish the work fast, so that we could pick you up and we could have a nice dinner at home."

I smiled as I leaned in to her, touching her lips in mine, savoring the moment we had together and the sweetness of the kiss, before we broke loose. _You're getting better and better at holding your breath in this, sweetheart._

She opened the door, while looking at me with the famous 'Delko half grin'. "It's all thanks to you. Without you, where would I be?" Grabbing the suitcase and her coffee mug, she closed the door softly; making sure it was firmly shut. I looked at her as she walked up the steps into the main door, entering it without any hitch, before turning out onto the roads again.

As I turned up the radio listening to the daily news, my mind wandered off to the conversation I had with Don Wolfe, the alpha of the werewolf pack, and my best friend.

"_Horatio, I need you to take in Ryan Wolfe into your workplace. Please," Don looked at me, with a sense of urgency and the great need shown in his brown eyes._

"_Of course I can do that for you, brother. What is wrong? What's with the sudden change? I thought he is doing fine in New York doing his patrolling duties," I toyed with the glass of blood, swirling it around, probably catching Don's attention._

_Instead, he shook his head, focusing on what he was here for, "It's about our council, Horatio. I want him to continue the legacy that our ancestors left us, the legacy of being the alpha. It is his turn in time to come, but he must prove them that he is capable of living his life well first."_

_I cocked his head to the side, "What about the New York Crime Lab? Did you ask Mac and Stella for his application?" _

_His head shook from side to side, "No, H. I want him to be fully capable of being independent, that's the whole point of meeting you today. I don't want the council to think I'm helping him out since we are in the same team. I trust you for this, like you've always trusted me for anything else, including the rescue of your wife and daughter." _

'_All right then, Wolfe. I'll think about it. But please, don't bring Mari and Anne into the conversation. It hurts me so much to see them both suffer," I tensed for a moment, taking a nervous sip from the glass, before placing it on the coffee table in between us. "I don't think the main office isn't going to like that simple answer alone. I need more documents to back up. You know what we always do, Don. Documents, just like evidence, to prove that Ryan is up for the job."_

_He nodded, as he smiled at me, pleased that his demands of his only son being part of the CSI Miami team met, "No problem, Horatio. I'll get Ryan to send you the Resume as soon as possible." _

_The both of us stood up and shook hands, now feeling more firm than before, "Thank you so much for this, H. You have been a great help to us."_

_I nodded silently, "The same can be said for you. For where I am now, for my family."_

I stepped on the brakes upon reaching the Miami Dade Crime lab. Pulling the handbrakes, I went out and shut the door, pressing the 'lock' button on the car remote before making my way into the lab.

As soon as the elevator 'dings' and the doors opened to the familiar surroundings, I noticed the odd figure out of the picture of the usual morning rush in the lab, dressed in a crisp white jacket with clean white pants and purple shirt inside the jacket. He was looking down on the floor while ruffling his hair with his hands, completely lost in his thoughts.

Eric came beside me as I walked out of the elevator, "H, there's our new guy, Ryan. He told me he knew you."

I took out my favorite sunglasses, fiddling it before looking up towards Ryan again, "Yes, he knew me Eric. You can say his father is like a brother to me."

"His family name is Wolfe, what a coincidence! Is he a werewolf?"

I nodded, to his amusement, "Yes he is, but he didn't know it yet," I looked at him, a small grin plastered on my face. "Play nice, Eric."

He chuckled, before leaving to the ballistics with a "Will do, H."


	5. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **_**Bonjour mes amis! ****Sorry I didn't post in quite awhile. Had a trip to Singapore a while back, and it took longer than expected because my mum fell sick and had to be taken to the hospital. We're back now and things looked good for now. Had an activity about _The Smurfs _today at French class, still wondering why its called "Les Schtroumphs" though. **

_**DISCLAIMER:**_**As much as I hate to say this, the characters from CSI:Miami are taken by CBS (including the lovable Ryan Wolfe), while some of the minor characters are by YUMGirlandMoltMan. The rest are by yours truly. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong>

Calleigh's POV:

I was examining some of the lacerations from the bullets Frank sent to me for our current case when I felt a pair of arms wrapped around me, breaking my attention away from it. Annoyed, I leaned back unto his chest, rubbing my hair against it; I know he loves and is vulnerable to me when I do that, "Eric. You know it's not a good time for some lovey dovey action. Your brother-in-law might not be too happy about this. Can we do our work and then spend some time with each other after work, all right?"

Eric chuckled, as he bent his head slightly forward and our lips met, stopping slowly after awhile because I've completely run out of breath. "I don't care what he says. If he can love my older sister and gets to cuddle each other around us, why can't we do the same?"

I squirmed out of his tight embrace, resulting in some groans of disappointment coming from the Cuban, "The Delko's sure are love magnets, are they?"

"They sure are Miss Duquesne. We need all the love and affection we can get," he grinned like a million watts light bulb. He snapped me back into attention by turning me around so that we are face to face with each other, focusing about the reason why he needed to see me in the first place "Babe, listen. Can you come with me for a few minutes? H says it's really important that we settled this first."

"What is it?" I removed the latex gloves with my hands and wriggled them, like I always do.

"We need to interview the new member that soon will be part of the Crime Lab, part of our team. You know, Ryan Wolfe. See what surprise he has in store for us, and what type of person he is."

"Oh, sure. Why not?" I smiled as I placed his hand in mine, causing the man that I've worked with for so many years, and maybe fall in love a bit, to smile as if he were a little child getting his reward. "But why does Horatio suddenly accept more recruits into the crime lab? I'm pretty sure we got our hands full on every section of the lab."

"I'm not sure about that, babe. But I've heard from him that Ryan is related to a good friend of his. His father happened to be Don Wolfe, part of the New York crime lab. Maybe it's some sort of friendly help from Horatio," Eric clutched the hand that I was holding on to, rubbing my knuckles in a circular direction like he always do, and soothing the tense muscles in between them, making me feel more comfortable, much more relaxed.

"All right then, let's go," the both of us made our way out of the ballistics room, and into the empty room that was used as an interrogation room, but was now used as an interview room for the time being, hand in hand.

Ryan's POV:

A female brunette police woman called for my presence. She was at least 150 centimeters high and has a really tanned skin, like it was as if she spent half of her life on the beach. She wears a black full frame glasses which seemed to cover her baby blue eyes and the police uniform suits her very well. I cleared my throat at the thought, brushing it away, never thinking about it again, "Ryan Wolfe, Mr. Delko and Ms. Duquesne are ready to see you."

I stood up as she approached me, ready to lead me into the interview, "But Lieutenant Horatio is supposed to be seeing me, I didn't know anyone else would be doing my interview," I stood there and crossed my arms, feeling a pang of dread hung over me.

"The Lieutenant is currently with the Sergeant out on the fields, questioning the victim's family and the possible suspects on their current case. Only Mr. Delko and Ms. Duquesne are available at the moment and that the Lieutenant specifically asked them to interview you."

I let out a small sigh, partly because of the relief that I wouldn't be scared and nervous during the interview while looking at his fierce looking eyes and face, and partly because I knew I had to meet the other team members, and work with them on each of the cases we have been assigned to, in the end. "All right, I'll go for it," I followed behind the police woman as she started making her way towards the interview room.

As I followed her, I looked around at where I'm going to work for the rest of my working life. It's very modern and looks very sophisticated, probably because of the massive amount of machinery and technology used in the lab. Each room was distinct, one had almost all of the samples Mother Earth could possibly provide, while the other one consists of mainly large pictures projected against the wall, most likely from the current case they are working on.

In the corner at the back end of the lab, there was a small room, surrounded by glass panes but not able to see what's on the inside from the outside. The policewoman points her index finger in that direction, "That would be the interview room, Mr. Wolfe. They're waiting for you in there."

"Thank you," I smiled at her before making my way inside the room. I didn't know whether to knock and open the door straight away, so I knocked on it and opened it slightly, trying to create a good first impression by being polite, waiting for the command to come into the room. As soon as I heard a male voice boomed, "Come in," I immediately walked in through the door and closed it gently behind me.

I was greeted by a Cuban male, who is boldly build, and most probably taller than me. He had clean, shaven hair on his head and brown eyes that really shows as if he is very serious in his work., however, one glance at him from afar, and you wouldn't believe your eyes when he will tell you that he is a CSI, unless you've managed to see the identification tag and the golden cop badge clipped on his belt, along with a nine millimeter gun. He was wearing a white blouse that fits him perfectly but comfortably, ready for anything physically when needed, and has long grey pants to match the blouse.

Sitting beside him was a blonde, pale skinned, Caucasian woman, wearing a black, slightly tight, sweater and long, sleek pants, with the Miami Dade lab coat being the most outer layer of her wear. She had a bright smile that seems to warm me up and twinkling dark green eyes to show that she wasn't the type of person who would eat you, alive, on your first day of work. She was also wearing a gold badge and had a nine caliber gun clinging on her belt as well, so you could say she was also a cop.

All in all, I thought they were a couple. Without any hesitation, I went to sit at the only seat available opposite them to prevent them from casting awkward glances.

The Cuban male picked up the files, containing mostly my resume and the documents for the things I did in my life before coming into this room, and began flipping through it, "Ryan Wolfe, you've got quite a resume here. Attending conventions about the forensic sciences, helping out in charities, had gotten a medal for catching a bad guy."

Not trying to feel awkward or anything, I let out a little laugh, " Yeah. I attended those because I felt the need to give back to society. As for the medal part, I thought I didn't fully deserve it. I wasn't alone when I caught him you know."

"Yeah, about that. It states here that you've graduated with a master's degree in chemical engineering and forensics science, so what's a guy like you doing in the normal, boring patrol job? I'm pretty sure you must have deserved more than what you are currently working for," the man closed the file in a swift move, before placing it back on the table gently.

"Well," I thought for a moment, wondering to myself as well as to why I've decided to choose that path, of all those that have been opened to me as I move on, "My dad is currently a cop, and so I thought I would like to follow his footsteps, but I just want to start small."

"You mean a patrol cop like you? You can actually work in the crime lab with us a long time ago, you could have brought more culprits in the justice," the female answered, looking at me as if she pities me. I hate it when people do that, it just shows that I have opened a weakness to them, much to my disadvantage.

"He currently works in the New York Crime Lab. You know, Don Wolfe. The one with the funny Elvis hair and brown eyes."

"Of course, we know who he is. We do contact him and the rest of the team from time to time, but you still didn't answer our question," the woman replied me, with the man rolling his eyes, both of them crossing their arms.

I sighed, knowing full well that I have had given up looking for excuses, and fooling them all together, "It's personal for me. And it's my dad who wants me to take up this job. He says it's for my future."

The woman uncrossed her arms, letting out a small 'Oh', but the man turned to look at me, _you can tell me. I know what you mean._

_Wait, did you just talked to me telepathically? Are you a vampire? _I turned to look at him with disbelief in my eyes. It's been awhile since I saw another vampire, other than Horatio himself.

_Well, I'm a fairy from fairytopia. Of course not, you fool. I'm Eric Delko, and I'm Horatio's brother-in-law. Now, just tell me, _Eric kept on glaring at me with hawk eyes, sensing every movement of mine, from the unnecessary twitching of the fingers towards the sweats going down the side of my face.

_My father wants me to be an alpha of the pack, and so he wants me to take up this job to please the council. I don't really want to do this, but I have to. It's my destiny, _I looked up at him, knowing well that he'll probably laugh like all the other people whom I've talked to from the supernatural world. Instead, he just let out a half smile, glad that he had seen and heard the real me.

"All right then, you're the most promising towards your position in the team. Welcome Mr. Wolfe, we look forward to meeting you in work," he stood up and stretched out his right hand, waiting for me to take it. All this time, the woman sat down there, a big question mark behind her and a crease on her forehead, "Eric. What are you talking about? You were just staring at him a few minutes ago, in a complete silence."

"That's all right, Calleigh. Didn't you remember what H said? He was all ready accepted here. He just wants us to know him better," he let out a childish chuckle.

I stood up and took his hand, shaking it, "Thank you so much, Mr. Delko."

"You can call me Eric, Mr. Delko happens to be my father," he smiled as Calleigh stood up, rolling her eyes at Eric, annoyed to be fooled by him again, judging by her behavior, outstretching her hand.

I broke from Eric's hand shake and went to shake her hand, "I'm Calleigh, and it's really nice to meet you." I thought I heard a snort from Eric.

After shaking hands with the both of them, I looked up at the both of them, feeling awkward about what I'm supposed to do next, "So ugh, what do I have to do for today, I mean now?"

"We're running some tests on the victim's clothes and the evidence around the crime scene that the killer might have left behind. We were going to send some of them to trace but there wasn't anyone available right now. Do you think you can do that?" Calleigh smiled at me, and I thought that being friendly is what she does best.

I glanced on the floor, thinking about the decisions that I've made so far in my life, and what I'm about to make, before looking back up at them and smiling a genuine one, "I think I can do it. I can be a little rusty, since there is a lot of new machinery that I have to work with, but trust me, we'll get the job done and catch the culprit on time."

Eric walked over behind me and patted my back, "That's the spirit, Wolfe! Glad to have you in the team" before pushing my back gently, as the three of us walked towards the glass doors, and out of the room.

"It's preferable if you call me Ryan. Mr. Wolfe happens to be in the New York crime lab," I smiled as the three of us laughed, leaving the interview room on a high note.


	6. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **_**I seriously need to get my eyes checked. Sorry folks for the wrong posting. Must have been because it's in the middle of the night. -.- And the fact that I love to sleep. ALOT. Here is the REAL Chapter 5. :) Enjoy. Man, I should really start studying for my final exam. **

**_DISCLAIMER: _With all due respect, I own no rights to CSI:Miami and the characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan's story. I think both are amazing. AND SO IS COLDPLAY! 3**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5:<strong>

Anastasia's POV:

The day started out just like any other. It was the orientation program and I did shake some hands, smiling to the people whom I will be spending time with for the next year or so, spending some time playing games provided by the school and starting a conversation during break time, but none of my classmates have the same view and personality as a whole like me, so I knew it's going to be a hard time looking for a real friend at that moment, something that I had expected ever since I was a little girl.

The classes have been great, meeting new teachers who were kind enough to help us out on our first day of school, from telling us what to expect when we are studying here, to tips on living life in balance even though we do have school work constantly in our minds 24/7. We have had a class discussion on who should be the class monitor lead by my form teacher, and my name happened to be on the board, among the two others, because they thought I was one of the promising trios. For me, I thought I was the musketeer.

My form teacher, Mr. Josephine (I have had to sniffle a laugh in the beginning when I heard his surname and him actually writing it on the whiteboard), told the three of us to get out of the classroom while the rest of the class discussed their votes, to prevent any unfair advantage. The other two happened to be called Marie Blossoms and John Talons.

John was an athlete in his previous school, his body structure and the toned muscles on his arms and legs can prove to you on that. He happens to come into the school using the school's athlete scholarship, and is planning to major a career in sports. One day, I may see him in a sports channel winning a gold medal, who knows? As for today, he was wearing a white printed T-shirt along with soldier green khaki shorts, looking confident at us for he is the only man called out.

Do not be fooled by Marie's looks. She may be beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, she can be as tough as a nutcracker. She has had told me that she's been to karate lessons every Saturday and that she is currently a black belt, the highest rank of them all. I smiled at her as she told me that she would protect me from harm, and had spoken to her a simple 'Thank You'. She was also the smartest kid in her previous school, so that might be where we both have things in common. Other than that, she cares about her looks, but then I don't. I care more about other people, unfortunately more than myself.

"Who do you think is going to win this position? It's highly prestigious, so I don't think I'll get the part," I mumbled towards the two others, pursing my lips to the side. I couldn't match up to those two. They are way out of my league, and they could have easily beaten me like I was their piece of cake, so the votes are up to those two.

"Don't think like that, Anne. Have faith in yourself a little more. You're the smartest in school after all, and you have always been helping in society and all of us when we've just met. Don't give up just yet," Marie smiled at me, comforting me like a classmate should, giving me a pat on the back as a form of encouragement, friendships sparking in between us.

John snorted, thinking differently, "Yeah, but then if she is out of our league, that means there are lesser competitions, which means I have more chance of winning," he crossed his arms and glared at us, giving out a lot of ego. I can't stand people who tend to show off a lot, let alone Marie.

"John, don't be like that! Even though you are an athlete, doesn't mean you could go around boasting it to everybody. I still don't understand why people like you can have a way in life, ordering people around isn't your forte, isn't it?" John rolled his eyes when given advises by Marie, as she turned to look back at me. "Don't listen to him. He's a big liar. You have something in the world that other people don't have, including me and …" she looked back at the beauty covered monster before looking back at me with a broad grin on her face, "… it."

I chuckled for a few seconds, before we burst out laughing; a new friend found within a few hours, one that I hope will last as long as we both existed. I knew John wanted to ask why we were laughing so hard, but Mr. Josephine has already called us back in.

As we walked through the main door leading into the classroom, the class put their hands together and clapped loudly, cheering for the new Class Monitor. I turned to look at the name on the whiteboard:

**Our new Class Monitor, ANASTASIA CAINE.**

My jaw dropped as I stood there, frozen in both shock and disbelief. Marie cheered for me and patted my back with a big smile plastered on her face, "See? I told you so!" I stole a glance at John, who only grumbled away before going back to his seat, face full of lines of disappointment and despair.

Mr. Josephine then did the papers for each of us, making sure we have the right documents about being in the right school and classroom, when the school bell rang just in time as he finished the last person in the class. He stood up, greeted us, and dismissed us accordingly. As I went to stuff my belongings into my Nike bag, while the others left the classroom, Mr. Josephine went towards my direction and took a seat beside me, "Anastasia, may I talk to you for a second?"

"Um. Sure," I took my seat, letting myself feel comfortable, before focusing on his face, "What is it, Mr. Josephine?"

"I'm just glad you're the class monitor. Being the youngest member of the class, the daughter of a lawyer and a superior crime scene investigator, it must be really something," he looked at me, his eyes twinkling with delight inside his half frame glasses. He straightened his glasses before looking back at me, "How is your mother by the way, Marisol? I've missed teaching her. She was a very good student, and very smart as well."

"You happen to know my mother? Cool," I smiled as he leaned back, getting into a more relaxed position, "She's fine, just recovered from her cancer and continuing her life as a lawyer, but **not** the way I was supposed to see it."

"Yes, I've heard of her contracting cancer, and I'm sorry to hear that, but what do you mean by 'not the way you were supposed to see it'?" Curious, Mr. Josephine edged closer to me again. He will be teaching me Biology and Physics anyway, so it was normal that he would like closer just to grasp new information, like how a good scientist would do **ANYTHING** to get new information about the unknown, before sharing it into the world.

"Well, for one, she became fit and healthy in under a few months, faster than a normal human being, and that her skin is pale and white," I outstretched my hands in an 'I don't know' manner, much to his amusement. "And the fact that she- I'm sorry, I don't think I want to talk about it right now. I'll just have to find out by myself."

A grasp can be felt on my shoulders and Mr. Josephine went on to massage it a little, caring a little for me, "That's all right, Anastasia. You'll have time, and if you want to talk to me, you may. As for now," he cleared his throat for the big announcement, "Do you know there is going to be a co-curriculum activity bazaar tomorrow? You should really think about getting the right activity, you know. Who knows what might happen outside school hours in this building."

I smiled as both of us stood up, "Well, I'll try to think of it, but there's already a couple on my mind which I don't plan to go for," I grabbed my bag and sling it on my arms.

"All right then, I'll see you tomorrow, Anastasia."

"Will do, Mr. Josephine. Goodbye and Thank You," I waved at him as I started making my way outside the classroom and down the hallway, meeting the famous glances from the other students in the school. Again, I begin to feel awkward, but I didn't lose my cool and kept moving on.

Opening the doors, I could see the familiar grey Hummer with the logo and the heading 'Crime Scene Investigation' in the roundabout just in front of my school, raising the sides of my mouth as I saw the familiar face driving it.

Aunt Calleigh.

Calleigh's POV:

The girl whom I knew and loved like my own child came running down the stairs, before dashing across the pavement, meeting the car itself. I rolled down the windows, expecting a cheerful Anastasia. "Hey Aunt Calleigh!"

"Hey Anne!" I pulled the lever on top of the door, unlocking the doors. Anastasia opened the door and quickly jumped in, putting the bag and sweater on the seats behind us. As Anne closed the door, I immediately locked the doors again, before revving up the engines and making our way out into the roads, seatbelts on of course. We wouldn't want the cops to catch us cops now, would we?

"So how's school?" I took a few glances at her, before focusing on the road again. She has definitely changed a lot, from wearing pink dresses and cute little hats, to having back packs and wearing shorts all the time. Yep, time does sure fly when we're having fun.

Anne took a sigh of relief, knowing full well that the first day of school has been officially over, "Well, today is the orientation day and it was fun, playing games and getting to know my classmates better. We had a discussion on who should be the Class Monitor and I got picked in the end…"

"You're the class monitor now? That's awesome. I remember being a Class Monitor for a year in school, being in charge of almost everything, having that power to order people to do something," I paused, sensing the awkwardness in Anne as she continues listening to me before her mouth spoke.

"I thought you were going to end that with an evil laugh or something," she mimicked the action shown on cartoon shows and that caused me to laugh out loud. I've swerved the car a few times to prevent myself from crashing into another car because it was too hilarious.

After my laughter died down, I catch a few breaths, gaining my composure, before finding the right time to speak, "So, do you like your new school? I mean, it's not like your old school is bad or anything."

"It's been great; I've met a couple new friends today. A new record I've set in years," Anne smiled as she glanced out of the window. She always does. I don't really know what is inside the brain of hers, but then again, why would I want to? "Speaking of which, how's your day at work? I heard you've gotten a new member to your team. And how's things with Uncle Eric?" her mischievous smile adds to my annoyance as I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

"It's great that you've new friends already, and Uncle Eric and I are doing fine. So there is nothing new to report on that. As for the new man on the job, he's been really good during the interview and now he's helping us out with the current case in terms of trace. You'll see and meet him for yourself," I smiled the famous 'Duquesne Smile' as I turned around the corner and arrived at my workplace, also known as my second home, stopping at the designated parking lot.


	7. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **_**Now this is the one! :D It's Chapter 6. I better post this before MTV opens their voting thingy again. Please do vote for Big Time Rush as the Breakthrough Band of the Year. They seriously need your help. :D I've also watched CSI and they showed Rascal Flatts! 'Unstoppable' is probably the best song they had, other than 'Life is a Highway'. That's EVERYONE's favourite, right?**

**_DISCLAIMER: _I do not own these wonderful people (YUMGirlAndMoltMan, CSI:Miami and Coldplay). Except for my characters. :) **

* * *

><p><strong>C<strong>**hapter 6:**

Ryan's POV:

I closed the door behind me as I walked into the lab, staring at the spacious room in front of me. It had a couple of small windows leading towards the hallway and the furniture is very modern, as if it was built in a sci-fi movie. My jaw dropped open as I noticed the machinery I remembered using when I was in university, only this time they are much more sophisticated and advanced. I can't wait to discover what I've lagged behind since leaving school with the Master's Degree.

"All right then, here we go," I smiled to myself, brimming with confidence, and went to put on a pair of latex gloves from a box on the table, before slicing the seal of the plastic bag with a scalpel, removing the evidence. It was a pair of bloodstained jeans that our victim, Jack Stinson, wore when he had his last breath.

I began the full process on the jeans according to the Crime Lab's needs. I grabbed one of the swabs, eyeing around the jeans carefully for details in each side of the pants, in the outside and the inside, making sure I left no stone unturned. I swabbed from the most obvious, the blood stain on his jeans, before working down the visibility range. As I felt my hands through his pockets, I thought I felt a piece of paper, but it was soggy as it is drenched in the blood from the victim.

I slide my index finger and thumb inside it, making sure I was extra careful so as to prevent the paper from disintegrating itself within my touch, and hopefully I would be able to see the message inside. With a little tug, the piece of paper loosened itself from the pockets. I sighed in relief as I managed to save a piece of evidence, one that could be vital.

I glanced out of the window as I began straightening out the piece of paper on top of a board, before drying it with a hairdryer I found in one of the drawers. I heard the lift 'ding' to see Calleigh and a girl come into the lab.

She must have been at least fifteen years old or so, because she seems too young to be working and too old to be going to high school. She has had the cutest smile I've ever seen in my entire life, along with the beautiful blue eyes that is covered by a black full frame glasses, mostly from a sports product as it looks, well, sporty and classic. I couldn't take my eyes off her as soon as it sets on her, looking at her every single move from her clenching her hand on a small book, towards the occasional brushing of her hair away from her forehead with her hands so that she may be able to see properly. She was wearing a black Jurassic Park T-shirt from an amusement park, and a pair of long, skinny jeans. To accompany that, she wore a navy blue Converse shoe and had a black backpack slung on her shoulders.

I don't know why, but my body suddenly felt a warm fuzzy feeling. It's as if there were fireworks in there, just waiting to be ignited by someone or something. My senses felt like they have awoken from a deep slumber after all these years. I was drenched in cold sweat just by looking at her, the way her personality is bringing out into the world. My heart starts to beat faster and faster in anticipation as she and Calleigh walked over to where I was. I thought I could just lie on the floor and closed my eyes, hoping it would go away.

_No, Ryan. Now's not a good time for a relationship! _My brain yelled back at me, _you have the council to think about, your parents, and your future as an alpha! Come on Ryan, you could do __**better**__ than that!_

I was probably deep in my own thoughts, because the bubble of thoughts burst by the poke from Calleigh, as the two girls stood directly in front of me. I tried to focus on their conversation, on what I was going to say, but her scent and her calm breathing just blew me away back to dreamland, as with her fluffy, soft dark brown curls covering her hair. I fought the urge not to stretch out my hand and just brush it away, revealing her beautiful face like she deserved.

_Damn, Wolfe. What's wrong with you?_

"Ryan, are you okay? You're drying a piece of paper, and it looks as if it was as dry as a bone. Better make sure it doesn't catch fire," Calleigh asked me, in a slightly raised tone when asking the question, as I broke away from drying the piece of paper, turning the hairdryer off. I shook my head in embarrassment, coming back down to earth from dreamland.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled as I looked back at the girl, "Hello there; it's really nice to meet you. Your name is…  
>?"<p>

"I'm Anastasia Caine, it's nice to meet you," she grinned, one that I can come back wanting for more, as she outstretched her arm in a friendly way, doing the normal 'hello! handshake'.

I took it without hesitation and shook it slowly, savoring the softness of her skin and the warm, comfortable touch against mine. I mustn't have realized that I've been clinging on to her for so long because she was wriggling her hand against mine, probably trying to break free to my grasp, much to my disappointment.

"Oh, sorry about that," I laughed, getting rid of the awkwardness by letting go of her hand, before my face dimmed into a frown, "Wait, you're a Caine. Do you happen to be Horatio's daughter?"

"As of a matter of fact, I am," she rubbed her hand that shook with me with her fingers from her other hand. "And that was some really hardcore shake there."

The three of us laughed, with me placing an arm behind my head and beginning to scratch it, "Whoops. My bad. Are you okay?"

"That's all right. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that bad," she forgave me wholeheartedly and in a manner of minutes, before turning to look at Calleigh, "Aunt Calleigh, didn't you say you have something for him?"

"As a matter of fact I did," she smiled, revealing her glossy white teeth, "What do you find on the victim's clothes, Ryan?"

"Well," I focused back on the task brought out to me, "We know the victim died from a gunshot to both knees and his chest, so you wouldn't be surprised to see blood everywhere on his body, but…" I picked out the piece of paper with my gloves and showed it to Calleigh, "it seems this little piece of paper has a story to tell."

"That's great, Ryan! I can't wait to get that to the scanner to unscramble the words and hopefully be able to find the culprit as quickly as possible. I want to go home early," her face beaming with delight, she took the paper from me, before giving me a pat on the back, "Thank you so much!"

Anastasia rolled her eyes, "Of course you want to go home early. Uncle Eric has been taking you out on dates lately, have you? Has he proposed to you yet? I bet you can't wait for that day to come," she grinned like the Cheshire cat on 'Alice in Wonderland'.

Calleigh slapped her playfully on the shoulders, "Yes. That could work too. And please don't think about me and Uncle Eric all the time," sticking out her tongue at Anastasia, she opened the door and fled the room, running all the way to the graphology section of the crime lab.

The both of us just stared at each other, feeling awkward for a while, before she broke it, "So… I guess I need to go to DNA for something," she was heading out for the door when I shouted, "No!"

She turned to look back, an eyebrow rose, "What do you mean, no?"

"Well," I sighed, trying to find a perfect excuse to make her stay, without making her feel more uncomfortable, "Maybe I could help you here in trace. What do you need to find out exactly?"

"Um," she slung her backpack towards her chest, before unzipping and stuffing her hand inside it, moving around in a circular motion, feeling her way through. When she thought she had felt it, she pulled it out, slowly but surely, making sure it is the right thing.

"This," she raised it up, showing me the insides of the container. It contains cotton swabs, shorted than the ones normally used in the lab, but it contained a red substance. My eyes grew big in horror as I recognized what that was, "Anastasia…"

"Just call me Anne. You seem to find it boring calling me that all the time. I know it's quite a mouthful," she chuckled in a sweet, lovable tone, before placing the container on the table in between us.

"Anne, isn't that blood?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you would consider examining it and seeing whether it is really blood. It's kind of urgent. Well it's not a science project, but it's just as important as one. And can you please not tell dad about this? He might get mad at me, and you do not want to see an angry Caine around the corner," she mumbled in gibberish, but I can hear her word-for-word, as she tried to zip her back and slung it over her shoulders.

Taking the container, I immediately opened it and took out one of the swabs, "Yeah, I won't tell your dad. But seriously though, where did you get these from?"

Her head hung low, feeling bad for not being able to answer that question, "Well, I don't really want to talk to anyone else right now. I need to find things out for myself first. I'm sorry."

"Aww, that's all right Anne. I know how you feel," I smiled casually to affirm her that I'm all right, and has received one in return as she looked up at me. Poor girl, must have had a lot of things on her mind, and no one else that could help her.

I clutched the swab firmly with a pick and gently cut the end with the most amount of liquid substance off the swab into a small test tube. Picking it up, I went on to search for the ethanol around the table, pouring a little amount, just enough for it to reach a few centimeters below the brim. I placed the cover on top of it and gently shook it, letting the substance and ethanol mix evenly with each other, before placing it on a machine which would find out its composition.

My eyes turned back to look at Anastasia as the machine 'whirrs' into life, mixing the test tube back and forth finding its composition. Her eyes seemed to be full of worry and guilt, and that her face was readable. She was questioning herself about what she was going to find out in a minute or so, the creases on her forehead gave proof to that. I felt bad for the things that she is currently going through. It must have been really tough on her, being the only child in the family. I felt like as if when she is sad, I am extremely sad as well. I wanted to wrap my arms around her tiny, vulnerable figure, to be able to hold her close and tell her everything's going to be all right, to wipe the frown and crease on her forehead forever.

Our heads snapped up as a 'beep' from the printer demanded our attention. I immediately went towards it and grabbed the fresh paper that was printed on. "Let's see…" I scrolled my eyes from left to write like a typewriter, before looking at our answer, "it is blood, Anne. You can't fight technology."

"What? That can't be right," she snatched the paper away from me and began looking, her eyes growing wide with shock as she continues to read the chemical composition down the row, "Iron, water, glucose, …, you're right. It is blood." Her mind instantly began looking for answers, searching in every side of it if it has to.

I grasped her shoulders, one arm for each shoulder, to calm her down, as she has shown a massive amount of pressure, "Hey Anne. If it's too much for you to handle, let me help you out, okay? It's the least that I can do. Your dad helped me get this job after all."

She sighed, stealing glances at me, before her head bobbed up and down continuously like a zombie, "All right then. I, have to go now."

I pulled her closer to me, much to her surprise. I don't know why I did that, but her need of comfort is so great, I just couldn't be able to stand it any longer, "All right then, you go ahead." I rubbed my chin on her head before letting her go, much to my disappointment.

She blushed as she stared at the floor, hard, not being able to look into my eyes anymore, "It's weird about what you've just did, but thank you for that," with a brief grin on her face, she turned around and walked out of the room.

I went back to my work, but for some reason, she is all that I could think off now. My mind felt the need to protect her, the need to make her mine. I didn't know where I got those feelings from, but I could doubt for sure it's coming from my nature. My werewolf nature.

"_**Oh love, don't let me go.  
><strong>__**Won't you take me where the street lights glow?  
><strong>__**I can hear rain coming, like a serenade of sound  
><strong>__**Now my feet won't touch the ground."**_

Horatio's POV:

As my newest team member hugged my beloved daughter in trace, questions start running into my head, as anger flared within me:

_Will he be the one who will accompany Anne? Is he the real alpha wolf the council is waiting and hoping for? Who is __**he**__ to be able to embrace her just like that? _

I fiddled my glasses, trying to calm the beast inside of me down, because I know he isn't going to harm my most precious thing in the world. My mind was clueless to the questions being asked, but one thing's for sure; their sparks have ignited and I could sense a great bond growing in between them, the same one that Marisol and I shared, but didn't really notice it until everyone else told us straight.

But as a father, I've got to make sure. To make sure that my daughter makes the right decisions for the important things in life, and this is one of them. I smiled as I went to the graphology, where Calleigh and Eric both are, discussing about the words in the blood stained note, hopefully getting the job done as quickly as possible.

It's time to play a little game.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Anastasia's POV:

_October 23__rd__, 2011_

_Dear Diary, _

_Hey! It's me again. Sorry I haven't been able to write again lately. It's just that a lot of things had happened and I didn't have the time to account for all of the events, so I'll just tell you the more important things. My lunch time ends in about at least fifteen minutes from now, so I'll make it brief. _

_The new school has been fun, no doubt better than the previous one I've been to. Their food is even more delicious but healthy as well! My classmates and teachers are generally nice to me (well, except for Tom, our class' athlete. He's just being a jerk, but that's because I took what he had wanted ever since him coming to this school – respect as a leader.) I was appointed for a class monitor and that means I'll be leading the whole class, which isn't to my forte. Mr. Josephine, like anyone and everyone else in my life, has high hopes for me. So I promised that I wouldn't let them down._

_The lab just had a new member two days ago. His name is Ryan Wolfe, and he was once a patrol officer in New York city. How he got to where he is now is a total mystery, but I don't really mind. It's just something about him that makes me cheerful for some reason, makes me want to open up to him about the things I'm currently going through. He has luscious raven hair, and a charming smile that helps me calm down, to tell me that everything is going to be all right. The first time we met, it's as if we've met countless times before._

_Judging from the clothes that he wore, he seemed more like a casual, easy-going person, something that is the opposite of what the people working in the lab's personalities are. Just like Aunt Calleigh and Uncle Eric. I tried not to think about drooling over the toned muscles which are reflected on his shirt, as it's really tone and fit. _

_He even offered me to help process the cotton swabs, the ones I swabbed on the pool of blood on the floor next to my bed left by mother earlier in the morning. Something that no one, in this world, has ever done to me before, well, other than my family and Aunt Calleigh of course. I have helped a lot of people, and yet none of them wanted to help me when __**I'm**__ the one in trouble. He must also have been as nervous as I am, judging from the fidgeting of his hands on each other and the table, the constant sweats pouring down his face, and the grip on my hand when he's shaking mine, probably not wanting to let it go._

_However, what caught my attention the most was the embrace he's given me before I leave the lab. It's as if he knew how I felt deep down inside, the sorrow and the curiosity driving me nuts inside of me from the outside world, especially since I found out the substance was actually blood. It's as if he's trying all sorts of ways to get rid of it. It's because of him I'm starting to feel things I've never felt before; warmth, comfort, as if nothing in the world can ever harm me with him around. That I can be __**really**__ sure._

_Ugh oh, so this must be what 'falling in love' feels like, like what some of my friends described it to me. Now I'm thinking of him more than my studies, the way he is, 'cute', even when he is 25 years old, ten years older than me. But honestly:_

How can I get rid of the thought that makes me feel so good?

_I can hear the bell ring now. Mr. Josephine should be coming in anytime, along with a few papers with information about what we would like to do for our extra curriculum. There's a bazaar outside in the multi purpose hall waiting for us and a few other freshman classes. _

_I'll talk to you later. Tom's coming near me, and I don't want him to see my private things, most of all this entire diary._

_Cheerios!_

I closed the book as the figure came up to me, "Oh, what are you doing? Writing your complaints in life? You know you shouldn't be complaining too much about your job as a Class Monitor. You should have given it to me," a broad grin smeared on Tom's face. It makes me feel as if I wanted to punch him so badly, to wipe off the ugly smirk on his face.

_Don't listen to him, Anne. You're right. He's a jerk. He doesn't deserve your attention, _a familiar voice sounded in my head.

"Who are you? Why are you inside my head?" I forgotten, when I blurted it out, that I was in a classroom full of people, and that they were quiet, listening to Mr. Josephine.

The whole class turned to look at me, eyeing me, probably thinking I was weird or something. Tom made the atmosphere worse for me, "She's gone **mad**!" The whole class stared as he roared with laughter with a couple of his friends, only to stop awhile after because it seemed weird.

Mr. Josephine looked at me, "Are you all right, Anastasia?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah. I'm all right. Please do continue with your briefing on the co-curricular activities."

Mr. Josephine looked at me with worry, confirming that I was all right, before continuing his speech. I decided to send a thought back, _Ryan, is that you? Please don't answer me unexpectedly. And you're also being like my mother._

I was only greeted with silence.

I decided to focus on the class, before helping out with the dividing of the class into teams. "All right, all of you can wonder around the booths if you'd like and you yourself can choose the activity which you or a couple of your friends and yourself would like, but you'll need each other so that no one gets lost or left behind. That's why I've split you up into teams. Got it everyone?"

"Yes Anne!" the whole class yelled back, full of anxiety.

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's head out!" the class cheered as they got out of their seats, walking straight out of the class towards the multi purpose hall. Mr. Josephine patted my back as a way of saying 'good work', "So, what do you plan on doing?"

He ran his hand through his now white and balding hair, "Well, I'm not quite sure. Guess I'll be looking around and seeing. I don't really like making choices," I smiled as the both of us left the classroom, with me closing the door behind us.

The multi purpose hall was well decorated with banners and posters asking the freshmen to join whatever activities the school could possibly provide. It's much more interesting and detailed than in my previous school, much to my joy. I opened my eyes wide, trying to take in every single information printed in the posters and banners as I strolled around the hall, looking at each booth, hoping that one of them really catches my attention.

I looked over to how the others are doing. Lots of girls are signing up to be cheerleaders, much to my amusement. I've never really liked wearing short skirts and cheering in loud voices anyway. I don't mind about the cartwheels and the handstands though. Tom and a few of his boys decided to sign up for track and field, something that I wasn't surprised about. I continued walking through each booth. Every student behind each one of it began calling out for me to join them, but I didn't really bother.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a booth in which I was really interested in: Karate. I began to walk towards the booth, but the voice appeared in my thoughts once again, _Don't try it, Anne. If I were you, I'll probably join the science club._

_Who are you? How did you know my name? Why are you protruding my head? _furious, I send the thoughts back.

_It's because I do know almost everything, my lovely Anne, _with that, the voices, disappear. I groaned in frustration. When is this all going to stop?

I approached the booth, and was greeted by the excited members of the Karate Club, "Hello there! Are you here to join the karate club?"

"Yeah sure. So where do I sign up?" I smiled at them as they handed me the sign up form. _Anne, I've warned you. You are sooooo going to be in trouble. _

_Well, you didn't show up, tell me who you are or anything, I might as well join them without you telling me what to do, _I grinned to myself mischievously, shutting him up, before writing my information on the clip board and giving it back to them. They took it willingly and gave me a slip of paper, "Tomorrow's the trials for the club. It's just to see whether you would like to take part in this or not. I hope you do though!"

"Right, I'll think about it. Thank you," I smiled at them as I walked away from the booth, looking for other booths as I'd looked for my backup activity.

There's a sign that says on one of the booths, "Crime Solvers: Become one of the 'Sherlock Holmes' today!".

Intrigued, I went over to them. I was greeted by a couple of schoolmates dressed up with detective hats and moustaches. There were things a detective could possibly have on them littered on the table, amongst them a magnifying glass and a fingerprint extracting kit. "Hello there, young detective! Would you like to join our club?"

"I ugh…" I tried not to laugh out loud at them, telling them that I have a father and mother who are both serving the people by solving crimes. "Sure."

"All right then," they handed me a list in which I filled the details in again. As I continued down the row, one of the students whispered to the others, "it's a Caine. She really is a Caine!"

I looked up, startling all of their faces, "Yes, I'm a Caine, which means I'm Horatio Caine's daughter. Is there anything **wrong** with that?"

The clan screamed in joy as one of them, probably their leader, walked up to me and we shook hands abruptly, squealing in excitement. "Oh man! It's an honor to meet you! Your dad is the most awesome person in the world! Can we please meet him someday? That would totally make our day!"

_I bet he is._ I gave out a brief 'huff' at the thought, "Well, thank you for that. He really likes it when he knows there are people who care for what he does. Maybe he could come and visit us someday," I finished filling in my information, "but that doesn't mean he's happy when he sees you lingering around our house. He'll have you straight into jail for that."

Smiling more brightly than ever, they handed me a slip of paper for the trials, and I waved them goodbye as the principal called us to go back into the class before being dismissed from school. Deep within me, I've always wanted to do what my father does, collecting evidence and catching the culprit in a cool manner.

But more importantly, I wished I could get into that karate club so bad.

Ryan's POV:

I've been getting new supernatural powers lately, all thanks to the werewolf genes beginning to work, and Horatio helped me with the controlling of it, making sure I didn't misuse it and hurt other people in the end. One of them is actually the sending and receiving of thoughts, which helped greatly when locating Anastasia and feeling how she is feeling right now.

I roared with laughter, almost destroying the evidence by accident for putting too much glycerin solution, when I heard that Anne decided to ditch my orders and actually sign up for the karate club. To think that she would have the resistance of the tiger, even a werewolf like me would get scared of her.

But more importantly, she could hear and reply to me. To my thoughts inside of her, even though she didn't realize it's me. And her feelings for me felt genuine as she began writing her diary. She had felt the same way I was, and more importantly:

She's falling in love for me the same way I was.

I smiled to myself, entering the castle built in the sky, when the glass door opened, shaking me out of it. Horatio came inside the room, hands fidgeting his pair of sunglasses, his trademark object. "What do we have, Mr. Wolfe?"

I went back to my work, explaining to him what I've been doing, "and well, it's a stamp that one of the possible victims has on his desk. It's funny to say this, but I think our possible victim could actually be our possible killer," I held out one of the letters the culprit has send to the victims, and one of the stamps on the table.

"Well, Mr. Wolfe. Maybe you are right. Would you like to accompany me in finding our culprit?" he smiled as he puts on his sunglasses. I find that action a little weird, since the two of us are indoors in a lab, but I nodded with genuine excitement, "Sure, H."

With that, the both of us walked out of the lab, with me hanging my brand new lab coat with the words 'Ryan Wolfe' embodied on one of the chest pockets, on the coat hanger.

Now, it's time to catch my very first bad guy.

Unknown Victim No. 1's POV:

I was walking home late after school. It's been a long day, but we've received enough members for our club to continue. I feel good just thinking about the things we've done so far, to be able to share others our interest in solving mysteries. That made me feel excited coming into the first day of meeting, which will happen tomorrow.

The sky is getting dark, and I knew it's going to pour, so I turned right into a dark alley. Hey, I do know it's not safe to go in dark alleys, all thanks to watching movies and reading books about sudden disappearances, but with the rain coming and it's the only shortcut I have, what choice do I have?

Little do I know someone is following behind me, watching my every move. I turned to look behind, yelling, "Is anyone there? Come out if you dare!" There was no response, no one behind me, so I kept on walking, brushing the thought away and hopefully be able to reach home in time and in one piece.

Suddenly, a figure came right in front of me and pushed me down on the floor. In a state of shock, I couldn't help but look into the culprit's eyes. To my horror, his eyes are shining bright red, and that fangs are protruding out of his mouth. I knew instantly that he must not be human.

I tried to scream, tried to yell something into the outside world, begging for help. No one heard me, no one came. I tried to move, but I was no match to his superhuman strength. I looked back at the monster, crying tears of sadness as he sank his teeth into my neck and began drinking blood from me. I sank down into darkness, pulling me further away from the world, towards a place where it is dark and cold, without any feelings. I wept for my mother, my family and all the people who made my life wonderful as my heart slows down it's pace with every gulp.

I'm sorry for what I've done. Please forgive me.


	9. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **_**Yep! Exactly one more week and one more day till Christmas is here! Whoopppeeee! xD Actually, we don't really celebrate much in Indonesia, but it's still a pretty good holiday. Next Tuesday is my final examinations, so I better post as much as I could. :) I better start studying! Come on Andrea!**

**_DISCLAIMER: _Hear Ye Hear Ye! Me no take CSI:Miami, YUMGirlAndMoltMan's characters as well as Coldplay lyrics, so you no sue me. Vous comprennez? **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8:<strong>

Grey's POV:

I smiled to myself, leaning against the throne, my throne, as I watched my big plan taking shape. My wife, Casey, leaned in to me, exposing me to my weakness, as she purred in delight. "The plan is in action, my love."

"I guess it is," I stroked her side and back, making her feel vulnerable and loved, before leaning in to her neck for my prize. As I licked and grazed my favorite spot on her neck with my fangs tenderly, I sense a figure in front of me. I smirked at our beloved daughter, Britney, "What plan, father?"

"Hmm? Well, unfortunately it's not my place to say yet. I'm sorry, my love. But you will soon know," I patted her head, and ran a hand down her arm. _My divine creation, here to help me pull the ultimate plan_.

A small cough of sarcasm brought me back to my wife, who chuffed with annoyance. I laughed at her cuteness, for she always want me all to herself "I'm sorry my love. Now, darling, why don't you join us for dinner?"

"No thanks, father. I'll get it from the kitchen myself, along with Maxwell. I guess I'll see you later," she smiled shyly, before running out of the room.

As we watched he disappear from the room itself, I turned to look back at my wife, eyes twinkling with hunger and mischief, "Now, where were we?"

Anastasia's POV:

School ended pretty quickly today, or maybe it was because I had been too focused on my work and looking forward to the trials after school. Same as everyone else in the class, whom screamed and yelled in joy when the bell rings, prompting a laugh from our Science teacher.

As I began to pack my stuff, a poke can be felt from my back. I turned to look around and saw that it's Marie. "Hey, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you're going for the karate trials," she beamed at me. It's just one of those things that made me realize what good friends I've made in this world.

The corners of my mouth rose as I grinned briefly at her, "Yeah, I am. I've always wanted to do martial arts, but my parents didn't really let me do it. They think it's too dangerous. This year I'm making the choices, whether they like it or not."

She puts her hands together for a few claps of joy, "That's great! Your parents do really care for you. I don't think it is weird for them not to allow you to do some martial arts. But then again, you'll probably be able to defend yourself."

"Well, that's true. I just hope my parents are able to sign the agreement form. I can't wait to try out for the karate club," I zipped my favorite backpack and slung it over my shoulders. "You coming?"

"Sure," she smiled, and tagged along behind me, as we walked out of the door and into the hallway.

The walk towards the practice room has been far, but it was worth it. As I clutched on the doorknob, Marie cocked her head to the side, "What's wrong? You seemed, unwilling to do this."

"I don't know, Marie. I always follow my parents. I've never defied them in any way. I know this is my first time doing it, but I'm scared of what they would say to me," Marie's eyes grew in worry as I said this, taking in every word seriously. _That's my girl, _the familiar voice sounded in my head again, but I brushed it away.

After a moment of silence, with my head against the door, she placed her hand on my shoulder, "Hey, if you don't want to do this, it's okay. I totally understand."

"Thanks pal. But I want to do this. This is for my own good," I took a deep breath, reassuring myself that I'm capable of doing anything, least of all defying my parents. "Let's go for it."

I turned the doorknob and walked into the room. It was full of mattresses and dummies that are used to practice. Most of the people there are wearing white robes, something in which I didn't have, until I join one of them, practicing some of their trademark moves. The teacher-in-charge came up to us, "Hello there. Are you the new students trying out in the trials?"

"Yes sir," the both of us replied eagerly. Well, when I said the both of us, I meant Marie said it in a really firm tone, while I had a little confusion in my mind, but I'd still do anything to go for it.

"All right then. You both came on time. However, there aren't many places left in the club, because there are too many freshmen who signed up and got into the club. It's only up to one of you," he sighed, feeling bad to whichever one of us would be kicked out.

"That's all right. So… what do we do?" Marie raised the ultimate question, even though the three of us knew the answer.

"You'll both have to compete with one of the other freshmen. If the seniors say you're good enough, well then, that's the club you'll be attending for the next year. If not, you'll have to find another group to fill in your extra curriculum time," my mouth sank at the thought. This can't be happening.

Sure I've watched a lot of karate shows from IP Man to films starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but I'm not up to par with the black belt girl standing next to me. One poke of the finger, and I could be send crashing against the windows. But I still gave it a shot.

As we changed into sports attires and got onto respective rings, two of the freshmen picked by the teacher has already been there. Marie's competitor was a strong build girl, who has swift leg moves as she practiced, or show off, some of her kicks. It's as if she, like Marie, has done karate all of her life.

As for mine, it was a lean build girl, somewhat timid, but ready to give some punches or two. Her brown hair with smooth curls at the sides makes me harder to visualize as if she's the person who can **fight**, and neither is the thin flesh wrapped around her arms and legs. For once, I thought I could actually beat her, with or without the experience.

We did our greeting by bowing towards the other opponent. As the bell rings to initiate the battles, I looked at my opponent, full of confidence. I stood closer to her, trying not to miss a chance, and raised my leg towards her right side of her waist in a kick. Out of the blue, she managed to dodge it single-handedly, grabbing it with her right arm and 'karate chopping' my thighs. I wailed in pain as she lets go of my leg and I landed on the floor with a thud. I felt like I was slapped a thousand times on the face. That strength can't come out of a girl who weighs less than fifty kilograms. I'm fifty nine. And her speed as well, either she's been secretly training herself or she's not human at all. I held on to my leg as the pain seared through it and up my waist.

As I decided to look over to where Marie is fighting, I saw that she was grabbing her opponents by the hand behind her back, while the opponent yells out in shear pain. The teacher stopped the match and decided Marie should be the last member in the club.

I was distraught, but I felt glad for her. For her to be in the club she has always wanted to be. As I changed back into my normal attire and set about rubbing my thighs, Marie went near my left side and bent closer to my face, "You okay there? That must be some bad bruise. Want me to get the first aid kit?"

"No thanks, the bruise isn't that bad. I'm fine," I sighed in defeat, as the voice ringed in my head; _I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so!_

"Yes, thank you for that," I mumbled myself, face full of regret, only to be shocked by Marie's, "Thank you for what?"

"Huh? Oh, I meant, thank you for caring for me. Well then, this means I'm stuck with detective club," I stood up, carrying my backpack along with me. "Thanks for helping me out, Marie. But I guess I'm not going to do this. I hope you'll get into the school team," I went on to embrace her in a friendly way. Marie hesitated, feeling bad for her friend, but went on to return the embrace.

Britney's POV:

As I wiped the towel over my face, and drank some blood from the bottle, I send out a thought to my beloved father, _what needs to be done, is done, Father. _

_Excellent, my dear child, _the voice boomed in my head, _you'll get your reward when you get home. _

_There's no need to, father. Your love is enough for me, _I simpered at the smiling expression I felt from him.

_All right, then my daughter. I'll be waiting for your return._

Anastasia's POV: 

My hung head low as I walked down the hallway. I tried to ignore the sneers and guffaws of the boys as Tom continues to mock, "What's wrong, Missy? Too weak for the karate club?"

I sobbed silently, as each word coming out of his mouth continues to give punches and slaps onto my face. _Please don't take this to heart, my love. You can accomplish great things. _

I sniggled a little, _Thank you. You can be in an emotional swing, could ya? Always warning me, telling me a childish 'I told you so!' but you comfort me when you're feeling down. _

The voice sounded as if it is cheerful before feeling solemn, _well, what can I say? I have feelings too you know. I just love you and it hurts me to see you go through this right now._

_Well then, why didn't you tell me exactly who you are? Funny that I'm receiving these thoughts from a person who loves me but decides not to reveal himself. Please don't try to be superman or any other masked superheroes. _I continued walking a few more steps down the corridors, before finally looking up a sign in one of the classrooms, _**The Detective's Club; Trials Today! **_

The room was strangely quiet as I went on, that's because everyone was busy looking at the clues laid in front of them. Suddenly, one of the heads turned, and the leader of the club smiled, "It's Anastasia Caine! You really did come!"

I gave out a timid wave as the club members surrounded me in a small circle. I turned my head to look around, and I could see two or three new freshmen. The leader than introduced us as Maxwell Akrisons, which is funny since not many people has Greek surnames, and he went on to introduce the rest of the team.

Introductions aside, we sat down in a circle as he began showing us the tools that they have been doing and the tasks that we would be doing for the next couple of months. The side of my mouth was raised up little by little as he lists the activities, one being more advanced and eerie than the previous one.

For once, I've thought that this may well be the club for me. After these years, I've finally felt like I was accepted, part of the team. Continuing on my father's fate, I decided to join the Detective's Club. Little did I know more rocks are built up for me to climb over.

And it's one that I've least expected.


	10. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **_**Speaking of which, did you know that Big Time Rush didn't win the 'MTV Breakthrough Band of the Year' Award? They lost to a band called _A Day To Remember_. I don't mind losing, but I mind the fans telling hateful messages to us Rushers, saying that they are not talented compared to the band itself. Have you even heard of the band? No? So do I. And they are just being jealous because Big Time Rush were more successful than them in a shorter period of time. TAKE THAT. **

**_DISCLAIMER: _I wouldn't be down here writing this story in desperation if I took credit for CSI:Miami, Coldplay and YUMGirlAndMoltMan. I'll probably be somewhere in the UK. :) Meeting Richard Hammond.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9:<strong>

Ryan's POV:

As the days go by, I've felt a lot of changes inside my body, as the genes continue to eat the inside of me, changing me into someone I'm destined to be.

For one, my hearing has sharpened, so that means that I could hear people's conversations from at least two kilometers away, or even the silent creaking of the door every time someone comes in and out of the room. I could only smell the scents, some even from humans themselves, though they don't realize it, even though when it isn't appealing. Hair tends to grow on my back every now and then, but it disappears again, leaving me with my own bare skin.

I've called my father, face full of worry and shock, when I went inside the bathroom and noticed that my eyes have changed colour, from the normal grey with a black pupil in the middle, to a bright golden colour with a black slit in the middle. He told me it was normal, as though my eating habits, my anger management issues and the muscles poking out from my usually trim figure. He advised me on how to control my body, so that I wouldn't accidently change eye colour and generally scaring the entire lab, but also my most precious girl in the world, or even change into a werewolf all together.

Anne is starting to become a common figure in the lab. She would always come here after her school ends for the day, diligently doing her homework her teachers have sent to her, or sketching some of the characters from her favorite comic books, in our break room. If she's tired, or bored, of looking into papers all the time, she would take a stroll down the hallway, pausing halfway through to look in through the mirror, seeing the employees processing evidence, and just stand there, amazed at what is being discovered. I was delighted when I could smell her beautiful, one of a kind, lavender scent, one that other people in this lab doesn't have, much to my amusement.

Whenever I am free or is just taking a break from my work, I would head out into the break room and she would always be there, head bent down, almost kissing the table. I would try to sit down next to her, and we would simply start up a conversation, just to kick off our relationship at a reasonable pace.

I would ask her about her day in her school, her new friends that she made, and hopefully new teachers that she didn't really like, which unfortunately she doesn't. Soon after, we have been playing games with our hands, sharing jokes and secrets with each other, just like best friends. It makes me happy that I could see her gracious smile again, that she could finally confide in me as a good friend.

However, the relationship between the two of us seemed to annoy Eric a lot. Every now and then he would pop by the break room to make some coffee or buy some snacks from the vendor machine. I can tell that Anastasia was just as curious and nervous as I am, and so one day she has decided to break the tense atmosphere, "Uncle Eric, I've never seen you coming in and out of the break room most of the time before, except now. What are you actually doing? Are you spying on us?"

His muscles tightened, as if he knew he was caught. Anne let out a long sigh, something both her father and herself had in common. "Uncle Eric, if you're thinking that Ryan would harm me, he wouldn't. We are just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. So relax, okay?"

My heart sank as she mentioned the word 'friends'. It wasn't just what I was hoping she would say. Eric then turned his body around towards both of our direction, a mug of coffee in hand, "Are you sure? Just 'friends'? Please don't appear like those girls in '16 and pregnant' and come begging to me later on."

Her face puckered, "What? Come on Uncle Eric. You know I'm not really ready for a relationship right now. Besides, I'm only fifteen," I cringed again. "I won't be like those girls, and I won't beg with you later on. Okay?"

He rolled his eyes, knowing that Anne, like her father, is too stubborn to listen to anything for now, "Fine. I'll talk to you later at home, all right?" he walked up towards her niece and gave her a peck on her cheek, "I'll see you later, Anne."

Anne grinned, the sweetest smile I've ever seen. I cocked my head to a side and smirked at her, smiling to myself just by seeing her smile, "See you later, Uncle Eric."

Eric looked at me for a moment, eyes glaring with anger and fire underneath, just waiting for the right moment to burst out, unfortunately towards me. I could see his jaws clenched, preventing himself from lunging at me for touching his territorial mark. A deep growl can be heard from his chest, even though Anastasia didn't really hear it. As he made his way back into the station, his stride, like any vampires, was elegant, yet sharp and quick. Anne and I had our eyes on him, as he turned right at the next corner, before looking back to each other, mind blank.

We made contact with our eyes for just a few seconds, before I looked down on the floor, out of sadness for what Anne said to Uncle Eric about the both of us. I thought she would see the relationship going on, and hopefully feel the same way about me. It was brief, but Anne could see right through me at that moment, "Ryan, are you all right?"

I wanted to tell her everything about me, the life I have lived for as long as I am standing and breathing, about the werewolf genes affecting on me, the changes I've been receiving every single day, from the sharpness of my hearing, to the distinct smells by my nose, why I decided to be here instead of my comfortable job back in New York, why I had to continue the legacy of being the alpha of the team. But more importantly,

My feelings for her. That I want to make her my beta, as she completes the other half of my life, bringing me my happiness.

Instead, I let out a big huff, not wanting to cause her any more pain than one she is currently bracing behind her back, "I'm fine, Anne. You don't necessarily have to worry about me. I guess I'll go back to my work now," as I stood up and headed towards the door, head hung low, I felt a pair of arms wrapped behind me, stopping me in my tracks. I placed my hands on her arms and smiled softly to myself, feeling her lavender scent and her warm presence near me.

"I guess you need a hug too, Ryan." I turned around; her arms still wrapped around me, and placed mine around her small, easily broken, body, pulling her towards me. I laid my chin on top of her head, savoring the moment and the love she has for me, silently thanking my ancestors for letting this opportunity come by, before opening my mouth to speak:

"Thank you Anne. Maybe I do need it too."

"_**I remember we were walking into Strawberry Swing,  
><strong>__**I can't wait 'til the morning, wouldn't want to change a thing,  
><strong>__**People moving all the time, inside a perfectly straight line,  
><strong>__**Don't you want it to just curve away?  
><strong>__**It's such, it's such a perfect day,  
><strong>__**It's such a perfect day."**_

Horatio's POV:

"So what do we have here Frank?"

Frank took out his notepad, flipping a few pages before arriving on the right one, "The victim's name is Alicia Rider. Just turned seventeen years of age. Her parents both own a cars resale shop, and they live in a small bungalow in Star Islands. She was found dead this morning when a group of school boys were taking a shortcut to go towards the arcades in that shopping mall," he stabbed his index finger in the direction of a large, modern building, bearing the letters **"Miami Dade Shopping Mall"**, prompting my head to look in that direction. "Who would be so stupid to leave the girl's ID card behind?"

I fiddled my favorite sunglass, like I always do, before putting it on, covering my vampirism eyes from the intense light of the sun, "Alexx?"

"The poor baby girl suffered exsanguinations on the neck, two holes with almost five centimeters apart," Alexx gently turned the victims head to the left, examining the wounds up-close, "and this doesn't look like your normal needle marks; they look like bite marks, made from fangs of an animal. Judging by the temperature of the body, poor girl has been dead for a more than six hours from now. She has some skin underneath her fingernails, which seems to indicate a struggle before 'it' took her and drained her life away. Could it be one of you Horatio? One you do know?"

I looked into the distance, away from the crime scene, "I don't know, Alexx, it could be any of the rogue vampires that have decided to reveal themselves, but it could also be Grey or other humans all the more. When I heard that he escaped when I could have him dead in my hands, at that moment, I felt deep anger arousing within me. Ever since the kidnapping incident, I've been watching Marisol and Anastasia ever more closely, not letting them out of my sight," my hands clenched tightly into fists as my fangs elongated, "I can't wait to see him again and rip his head off this time. In my 200 years of existence, I've never felt this urgent of the need to kill, but I guess that is nature."

Frank blenched when he saw the fangs protruding out of my mouth and the veins bulging out from my wrists up my arm, sensing his increased heart rate and the sweats pouring down his face as well as decorating his bald head. After awhile, he calmed down once I've relax into my usual setting, "You're not going to like this, Horatio, but this girl goes to the same school as your daughter, and both of them happened to be in the same club for extra curriculum. And the strange thing is, she doesn't have any enemies, but she has a lot of friends. She was also the Homecoming Queen in her previous school."

I sighed, giving out a little chuckle. My little Anne just love to run into danger, does she? "All right then, I'll meet you later back in the lab for the full process, Alexx. Frank, we'll have to check who's on that list in the club, to see who has the motive to kill her. Send Eric and Calleigh to process the scene; I don't want Ryan to be part of the investigation, for now. We have to catch the culprit before he begins his second kill."

"You got it Horatio," Frank, being professional as he always was, immediately broke out of the group and walked towards the police officers, giving out the orders, all the while taking out his mobile phone and punching in the numbers, most likely calling to Eric. I took one last glance at the victim, the brutal injuries she sustained before she have had her last breath by my arch nemesis, before walking back towards my Hummer.

_It's time we meet again, Grey, and this time, I wouldn't be so kind and forgiving to you._

Grey's POV:

I was soothing my bride's back, preparing her from my lunch, when I felt a sudden burst of power and a message to me. I closed my eyes, letting out a small snicker while taking in his anger, readying myself for the second phase of the big plan.

_Game on, just like old times, Horatio. Game on. _


	11. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **_**I thought I lost the document for awhile. Almost freaked out there. Well then, 3 in a row today! What. Up. Need I tell you I almost choked on a Rambutan Seed while watching NigaHiga's "Off the Pill - Christmas Spirit"? That's how bad it is. AND I need to buy the Vittorio the Vampire by Anne Rice soooo soooo bad. :((**

**_DISCLAIMER: _I'm a good person of the society. Why the bloody hell would I steal? (Even though they are really tempting). All rights go to CBS for CSI:Miami, YUMGirlAndMoltMan for her/his characters, and Coldplay for their meaningful lyrics. :) Ooh, and this time for the information on Werewolves from Wikipedia. Scared the heck out of me with the picture. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10:<strong>

Anastasia's POV:

_Was I in a dream? _

_If so, why does it felt like everything I see or touch is so real? I looked around me, only to realize that I am surrounded by pure darkness. I suddenly saw a light coming in from a distance in front of me, and I immediately went straight for it, not thinking twice about whether the light is actually leading me to danger. I don't really feel comfortable around the dark anyway. _

_I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, edging closer and closer into the light, feeling safer and safer, or so I thought. I noticed a familiar figure standing around the corner, and I walked closer to it, curiosity taking over me as usual. I stopped at least a few meters in between us when I opened my eyes and knew who it was: Ryan Wolfe, my new best friend and secret crush. _

_Suddenly, it is as if the floor gave way and I sunk, slowly, until my foot is buried just nicely. I tried moving my legs in all sorts of directions, hoping it would give way, but the floor was too strong. I felt like as if my legs were buried in concrete rather than sand. Ryan turned to look back at me, smiling in a way as if he himself felt sorry for what he was doing to me, "I'm sorry, Anne. I have a secret to tell you." _

"_What do you mean, Ryan? We share secrets all the time. How many more secrets do you have left for me?" I laughed at myself, totally clueless at what he was talking about, and the fact that I didn't want to raise his blood pressure. Ryan didn't laugh or smile at my remark, in fact, it's as if he doesn't have any expression at all. He began walking towards my direction. _

_As he did, his features began to change. His ears have certainly elongated, and the fact that his eyes change colour, something that amazes me ever since seeing the change in pupil of a cat. Fur began growing in all parts of his body, and his figure became two times bigger. His fingers turned into sharp, razor claws, hands turned to paws, and his teeth turned into jaws, those as sharp as a knife. I wouldn't want to imagine putting my limbs in there. _

_I stood there, frozen in shock, jaws wide open. I wanted to shout, but I wasn't brave enough to speak up, and there was no one nearby who could help me. I only silently begged for whatever reason he would suddenly not want to eat me up, alive. Once his transformation is complete, he stood in all fours, just like any four-legged animal. It was then when realization hit me:_

_He's a werewolf. Werewolves, from what I read, can be pretty vicious. Even though I love animals, I'm not really sure if a werewolf would like to befriend me, and in a short period of time._

_Fear caused me to gag in my own mouth, "Nice… wolfie… I'm not juicy; I'm made of bones..." However, the werewolf was oblivious to my soft remarks and lunged for my throat. _

I woke up, face full of sweat from the nightmare. I managed not to scream, just in case my parents woke up and come looking for me, again. I looked at my body from under the sheets, and I thanked the man above I didn't accidentally relieve myself. I looked up at my 'Winnie-The-Pooh' wall clock; it read 4:30 in the morning. Now that I can't sleep and the fact that I should be awake in about an hour or so anyway, I decided not to go back to sleep, but instead went to take a seat in my study desk and turned on my laptop.

Keying in my password, I was let into the main menu. I immediately clicked on the internet explorer and typed for the 'Google' address. As soon as it popped up, I typed in the key words, 'myth' and 'werewolf'. I felt subconscious from the lack of sleep as the pages loads with the answers to certain websites, my head kept on bobbing up and down, but I've managed not to bang my head on the table or the laptop and was wide awake again by the time it finished loading.

I clicked on the link to a common website and it instantly shows vital information and pictures. Boy was the picture scary. As I continued down the page, the first sentence on the first paragraph really caught my eye:

"_**A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope, is a mythological or folklore human with the ability to shape shift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf like creature..." **_

_Well, that certainly made sense in the dream_, I thought to myself, trying so hard not to bring the memory back. _But why is that dream so distinct? What is it trying to tell me about Ryan? _

"…_**by being bitten by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse."**_

A curse? Now that's interesting. I continued scrolling down the page, taking in every chunk as I could, all the while making sense about the message being brought through. Ryan appears in my dreams lately, he's _certainly _the one talking to me in my thoughts, and the strength he has when shaking my hand, that is certainly not human. I took out a pen and paper and began to jot down notes on how to know when someone is a werewolf:

"_**One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, under the pretense that fur would be seen within the wound."**_

Ugh. That's a little too extreme. And I don't think father would like it if he sees me carrying a knife, or worse still, cutting Ryan's flesh in the Crime Lab. I gave up immediately after seeing the second method:

"_**A Russian superstition recalls a werewolf can be recognized by the bristles under its tongue."**_

That was the only option left and I knew it's going to be hard looking from under his tongue. I doubt it would be easy going up to him today in the lab and asking, "Ryan, would you mind lifting your tongue up for a moment?"

I closed the program immediately as the door creaked open and mother stepped in, "Hey there, little one. It's funny how I can see you wake up so early today. I thought you love sleeping."

"Well, yeah, I guess. But I've had a nightmare today, so I woke up an hour earlier than the usual," I smiled weakly as she placed one hand on my cheek and another on my forehead.

"You've had a nightmare again? Why didn't you wake us up?"

I sighed, looking up towards my mother's eye, hoping that she wouldn't sense the fear and know what I was actually doing behind my parent's back, "Well, I don't want to bother you, because I know you need sleep," I paused for awhile, "You two do need sleep right?"

Mother looked around the room for a second, deep in utter silence, "Well, ugh, yeah, we do need sleep, honey."

"You hesitated. I thought people would say in an annoyed tone, 'yeah. I need my sleep, so don't try to bother me!'"I looked up at her, hurt for being lied to, and the thought of missing something, "You're not telling me anything, just 'in time'. Need I tell you that I took a sample from your tears left on the floor and brought it into the lab to be processed? It is **blood**. Not food coloring, or paint, or anywhere near those liquids."

I sighed, looking on the floor and mother's feet. I just want the answer to my big question so badly, "Just what are you two hiding from me anyway? Why aren't I let on it? Is this some kind of a grudge against me?"

There was a moment of silence between us. I didn't want to look at mother, to see the tears forming in her eyes. I didn't want to hurt her feelings; I just want to know why they are being like this to me all these years. I heard the door slammed open and my father stormed in, footsteps getting louder and louder, sensing great authority. The footsteps stopped as I heard the murmurs from my father trying to soothe mother and telling her everything is going to be all right, before two sets of footsteps left the room. Neither of them said a word to me.

My face went up to meet my face. My life is in such a mess, and there's nothing I could do to bring it back to the way it was, plain simple, and carefree.

A knock on the door pounded in my ears, as I looked up at the person who could be doing it. I was half expecting father and mother to come back, to explain things to me and take me to school, as if any of this didn't happen. Instead, there stood Uncle Eric, "Hey Anne, I heard that mother and father told me to send you to school instead. They said they're busy with things right now."

_They must have hated me, _I let out a snort and crossed my arms, rolling my eyes away from him. My uncle went inside the room and sat in front of me on my bed, _what's wrong, Anne?_

_Nothing, I'm capable of doing things on my own. Thanks for caring for me Uncle Eric._

_No, you are not capable of doing it, I could sense the 'you' deep down inside, _Uncle Eric slid a few fingers below my chin and brought my head up slowly. _Tell me everything. I'm here if you need me. _

I tore my gaze away from him, _I'm just finding out the truth about our family. The way you have been acting since my fifteenth birthday, it's all different from before. _I let out a sob or two; _I think they're planning on dumping me, or keeping me out from the big secret, because they don't love me anymore. _

"Dumping you? No, no, no, silly. Your parents wouldn't stop loving you or even thought of dumping you. They love you too much! You're once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it's a waste if they lose you, for life," he wrapped his arms around me, placing his right hand on the back of my head, before pulling closer to him. "Hush now, please don't think that way. Think about the positives in life. You have me, and Aunt Calleigh," he gave out a groan as he clearly sounded annoyed about what he is telling me next, "… and Ryan Wolfe."

I managed a smile at him as we pulled away from the short embrace. It feels good to share the pain with my uncle, and it definitely eases some of the stresses in my life, "Listen, dear Anne. The time will come when we will tell you everything. We do want to, so, so badly, but there's a reason we can't tell you yet. Only when you're ready. Please don't harass your mother any longer, all right? I don't want her to hurt herself because of you."

That got me for a second, "What do you mean 'hurt herself'?"

"Well, ever since you've questioned her about us, she's stopped drinking the special red juice. It's important to the three of us, since its part of our special diet program. If it were not to be in your system, your organs may suffer a great deal of damage."

Questions began popping in my head again. _Damn you, scientist instincts_. Before I could open my mouth to speak, Uncle Eric placed a finger in between my lips, "No questions, yet. I'll tell you what: I'll ask your father to give you some time to be able to finally answer your questions, but you've to promise me not to bug any of us with the questions until then, understand?"

Well, it was not what I've wanted, but I have no choice, so I nodded my head in a silent agreement. _That's my girl, _his soothing voice surrounded in my head, while he wrapped around me like a blanket, cold but comfortable.


	12. Chapter 11

_**A/N: **_**Been really progressive lately, but let's just keep it that way. :) Listening to "Beautiful Christmas" by Big Time Rush certainly brings me into the Christmas Mood. xD See? They are talented at everything!**

**_DISCLAIMER: _"Looks like..." *puts on my own glasses* "... I don't own them." *half expecting a YEEEEEAAAAAH! behind me*. :) Coldplay, the CSI:Miami characters by CBS, and the minor characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan's story are free to go. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11:<strong>

Maxwell's Point of View:

Our history lesson today seemed to be the least interesting of all, even though it so happens to be my favorite subject. My teacher, Mr. Saltzman, have been talking about the topic on Hitler and how he became a nightmare for at least thirty minutes.

"… Have you heard about 'water torture'? It's a procedure whereby the Prisoners of War were forced to drink water until their bodies couldn't be able to handle anymore and literally 'explodes'…"

My mind wandered off into the conversation I overheard with my parents and the sight when I peeked through a small hole from the door being slightly ajar:

"_The plan has nicely followed through phase one, and now it's time for phase two," my father proudly raised his voice, prompting a smile from his beautiful and loving wife. She edged closer to him, rubbing her head against his chest, purring with delight. _

"_Finally, the plan is under way, after fifteen years. They have been a blessing for us, to get rid of Horatio's precious little snot from the phase of the earth," mother's lips raised to both sides of her face, in a wide glee. There was a moment of silence before I heard mother licking her lips, imagining as she closed her eyes, "I wonder what she tastes like. I bet she tasted as delicious as humans themselves. I can't wait to try her out."_

"_We will my love," father soothed her back, mother closing her eyes and savoring the moment, "When the time comes, we will be invincible and we shall destroy Horatio __**once and for all**__, and then we can go in for our prize."_

_Anger flared through my body. So all this time, they have been using Britney and I to seek revenge for what the red headed lieutenant did to them a few years ago? Just to steal their precious daughter, and drink her blood? I turned the doorknob and swung the door inwards, causing it to bang against the wall and leave a great impression. _

_My parents clearly weren't shocked to see me, and neither were they happy about seeing me, "You've heard every single word we've said in the conversation didn't you?" _

_I roared, full of rage, as I shot my fists against the door, creating an unnecessary hole against the smooth surface, "So, all this time, you have been 'loving' Britney and I, creating us just so you can go near your arch nemesis, father? I'm not sure if I can call you my _parents_ anymore!"_

_Father glared at me, jerking his head to a side, before pushing me up against the wall in our usual supernatural speed, "You've got a problem with that Maxwell? You know, we could have killed you, drank your blood for our good, and then kill that disgraceful, ungrateful Horatio ourselves. But your beloved sister is our precious gift and I knew she wouldn't live life without you," he spat on my face, "Remember who you are, Maxwell. You are an Akrisons, that means you will listen to me and abide everything I say, got it?"_

_Though I've been taught by nature not to fear others because of who I am: a predator, this is the first time I've felt one. His power was, overpowering, as if he had kept it inside him for a very long time, creeping around his body and waiting for a good time to reveal itself. I nodded my head involuntarily, causing him to grin evilly and threw me towards the sides, landing on the walls and causing a big dent and cracks outlining it as I dropped on the floor. I didn't feel any hurt or pain in all parts of my body, well, technically because I am a vampire and I heal quick, but my mind and heart still felt cold, like it was hit boundlessly by a baseball bat and shot by a gun at the end of it. _

_I gritted my teeth as I struggled to get up, to face my father and his outshining ego, but lost a step and my bottom kissed the floor again. Defeated, I looked up to his bright fiery red pupil before speaking up, "All right. I'll do whatever you want, but please don't tell Britney about all of this. She didn't need to know."_

"_That's my boy."_

And so, we began the second phase of the huge operation, which is luring Anastasia into our lair, where my parents will deal with her afterwards. I didn't want to join in their torture planning, because I just want to be with my sister, and that is all that matters.

The school bell rang, ending the entire school day. I've noticed and remembered the route our dear little Caine took every single day when she is going home, so I went straight towards the park without any hesitation, the middle of her journey. I just want to get the job done and over with.

I stood in the shade of the tree, a mask placed over my head so that I wouldn't be recognized should this plan fail and the Caine's will start being curious with me, keeping her away from me. I didn't want the plan to blow. I didn't want to waste my life on a dumb plan.

My head snapped up as I caught her scent from the around the corner. _**How did you know that?**_ I hear you cry. It's just the fact that her scent is so different, and so delicious. I couldn't help but drool just by smelling her; I hope my hunger didn't get the worse out of me and drink her then and there, when I should be bringing her back in one piece and still breathing.

She's getting closer, I could feel her within me. Feel her heartbeat pounding against my ear, her scent setting my throat on fire, her footsteps getting louder and louder. I leaned against the tree, getting a clear visual. As she passed by the tree, I immediately lunged at her, grabbing both of her wrists and dragging her into the dark patches within the park. She tried screaming, screeching her lungs out for air, but it was no use, due to me bringing the two wrists together with one hand and stuffing her mouth with the other.

I smiled to myself, glad that the plan has worked according to plan. Now to take her into the car.

As I began tying her hands and legs with some of the ropes I've brought along with me, I heard a fierce, low sounding growl from behind me. Turning my head around so that I could get a clear view on the animal, I was astonished to find a big dog, no wolf, with his head slightly lowered and body leaning forward, readying for the pounce on me. The wolf was unusually huge, with his muscles bulging out of his four legs. His fur was pure black and very long, I tried looking at its paws and tried not to imagine the long claws scratching against my chest. I rubbed my chest at the thought. And his tail was very long and bushy, that with one whip, he could have sent me flying. It was then that realization hit me; he's not just any ordinary wolf:

He's a werewolf.

I stared deep into his bright, Egyptian yellow eyes looking straight back to me. For once, I could sense a living being's emotions just by looking at it. Deep rage, anger, revenge…

Hunger to kill.

I thought of a plan on the spot, one that would get rid of him so I could get her into the car without arousing the park goers around the area. I decided to trick him a little, by turning to look back at the taunted girl slowly, trying to raise his curiosity, before turning back around in superhuman speed and pushing him on the floor. However, he seemed to sense it coming, because he leapt to a side and pushed me in the other direction, pinning ME on the floor. He roared against my ear, raising my level of fear. I thought I heard some phrases in my head.

_You've hurt the one I love. You're going to pay, _it screamed in my head, full of hate, full of angst. Full of raw, animalistic power.

It began snapping its jaws at me, something that I'm not afraid of, but the venom is that particular fear inside of me, one that would affect me and my future should I've not been careful. I once read on one of my father's books in gallery of our house, that when a werewolf bites on a vampire, its venom could spread as close to the speed of light, causing a vampire to be physically paralyzed, possibly for life, or even face unbearable death. Now's probably not a good time to try out that theory. Before I could taste the real pain from the bite and venom, a silent whistle brought us to Anastasia's direction.

"Leave him alone, please. He doesn't deserve this from you. Let the police handle this, I just don't want any bloodbath. I don't want you to hurt people," her eyes were filled to the brim with tears.

The wolf loosened his hold on me, feeling a soft side for his beloved new friend. I decided to take this opportunity and kicked him in his abdomen, letting him fly for a few meters before landing on the tree. I got up, picked up some of the things I've left behind in preparing for the abduction, before fleeing the park. I don't want that girl's father to look for me, yet.

Never once did I look back, to see the creature that almost took my life away once more. I didn't care what my father will say or do to me for punishment, but at least I lived to see another day.

Anastasia's POV:

With the masked man gone, I turned to look back at the poor creature, which have fallen to the ground from the tree and was shaking his head from side to side, coming back to reality, letting out a small, saddening whimper.

I tried to get up, wanting to help the poor, injured creature so bad. I've once treated a stray cat when he was limping after a battle with his 'friends', giving him biscuits as a treat every week, and I've waited every single day for it to get better. I know I won't get anything in return, but that's all right.

This is different, that's because this particular wolf saved my life from a kidnapper. My mind went back to the incident. Who is he? Where did he come from?

After a few minutes of thinking, my mind went to a simple, but very important question: When and what if he comes back to me again?

I've managed to sit up straight after a few wiggles of my legs and my bottom. I didn't notice that the ropes binding my legs and hands were chewed apart, until a wet nose nuzzled close unto my neck and a hot, wet tongue licked the side of my cheeks, causing my hands to come up in a natural manner. His breath smelt of meat, raw meat.

"Did you just chew the ropes? Thank you for that!" I smiled for a second before examining his whole body, running my hand through his soft, smooth, black fur, "You're hurt because of me," I wrapped my arms around his strangely large figure and pulled him closer to me, "I'm sorry."

A soft whine aroused from him as he prodded my cheek with his nose, _don't be. I'm fine. See? As good as new._

Did he just talk to me in my thoughts, like the voices that seem to annoy the heck out of me a few days ago?

He helped me as I stood up with ease, straightening out of my attire, before going over to retrieve my backpack, _well yeah, I did. I'm sorry if I've annoyed you. _I thought I heard a snort after that, _and I did say I told you so._

I rolled my eyes as the black wolf roared in laughter, grabbing the bag from his mouth after a few tugs, "Well, thanks for the advice," I've emphasized on the words '**advice**', "But seriously, how did you do that? You're a wolf! And I'm pretty sure generally wolves don't talk to humans, in fact all animals can't interact verbally, especially through our minds," we decided to stay on the crowded side, just to make sure the kidnapper didn't come back to take me, again.

Heads turned towards our direction, as they probably might be thinking the same thing as me: What a weird creature, way to be big for a dog, and a bit smaller to be called a wolf. They must have thought I must be lucky, and a little weird, to have such a dog as her pet, _I'm the special kind of wolf, my dear Anne. And you must be really special to be able to hear my thoughts and reply them back. _

We kept on walking, and I tried not to raise my voice in case people raised their eyebrows at me, thinking I am really a nutcase, "Special? What do you mean 'special'?"

_Well, _we turned around the corner, and my house was in sight. I'm starting to feel bad if father and mother didn't allow me to keep him. They might even want to ask what happened and how I got him, and to be honest, I don't really have the guts to tell them. _I'm the only kind of wolf that is able to communicate to certain people, feeding them information inside their brain, and the special kind of people whom replied towards our thoughts are usually someone really close to us. _Its eyes were jumping in pure delight; _I'm glad that one of them is you. _

Awkward.

We stopped outside the main door of my house, as I scratched my head in confusion and generally feeling uncomfortable, "What do you mean, real close?"

The wolf was looking up, gazing deep inside my eyes. For the first time in my life, I have felt comfort in them. This type of animal is different from the others which happened to be a part of my life. He's the type that I want to be near with, to cuddle him up like a teddy bear when I needed comfort, to be my very best friend, telling him what I feel deep down inside. My face reddened as I looked away from the wolf.

It's funny, but where and when have I felt this feeling before? And it's even more intriguing because I've never asked myself how the wolf could appear and find me here in the first place. I'm pretty sure that Miami certainly didn't have mutated wolves and some dogs to create new breeds.

Before the wolf could respond, the door opened gently, and the familiar figure of my father stood right in front of us, fiddling with his spectacles as per usual. He was closely followed by mother, Uncle Eric and Aunt Calleigh, all feeling very anxious, but the three of them sighed when they saw me, safe and sound.

Father wasn't too happy when he saw the wolf though, and as if I have wolf senses, the wolf backed away from me and leapt off, through the pavements, before disappearing behind the woods. I turned to look back at my family, with father putting on his sunglasses.

"I'm glad that you didn't get hurt or get taken away from us. But from the looks of things," father let out a soft sigh, "I think you have a lot of explaining to do."

I looked at them, letting out a big 'OH MAN.'


	13. Chapter 12

_**A/N: **_**Ploughing on... :) Really stoked that Kendall is coming to Bali in a few days, but gutted I couldn't be wherever he is. So if you're a Rusher and you happen to meet him there. good for you! On the plus side, might want to ask my Uncle to get the autograph. xD**

**_DISCLAIMER: _If you're innocent, and you know it, clap your hands! *clap clap* = Of course I would do that! I don't own the characters of CSI:Miami, YUMGirlAndMoltMan's story and Coldplay's lyrics, now would I? :D They're awesome people.**

* * *

><p><strong>C<strong>**hapter 12:**

Horatio's POV:

There was nothing but the deafening silence surrounding the room, until Anastasia's impatient and nervously tapping of her fingers on the table. I looked at my beautiful, loving wife, anxiously twirling her hair with her fingers, who was sitting beside me on the left. And on my right, her younger brother Eric was running his hand back and forth his head, not sure what to tell his niece and his future bride, both sitting opposite the three of us.

I made a small cough to direct all of their attention to me, focusing on the deal we've made with Anastasia about telling her the truth. As for Calleigh, well, Eric is going to propose to her soon and its best we let her into to our secret as well. "Okay, now… ugh…What is the big secret?" I sighed as our little girl smiled sweetly, something she would always do when she wants something from us. She knew we would be vulnerable and give in to what she wants.

I gave out a small smile back at her, something that just comes naturally between father and daughter, "Well," I tried looking for the exact words to say, "We didn't want to tell you two at first because of the people that can, and will, actually hurt you anytime and anywhere. But after what you've both gone through, I guess it's best to tell you two."

"Hold on a second," Anne's ears must have captured the word 'both', as she turned to face Calleigh, "What do you mean the 'both of us'? Are you all right? What happened?"

"Look Anne, I'm fine. I just got into a fight with some culprit, but luckily your uncle saved me in time. Man, you should have seen his strength and speed. I couldn't draw out my gun in time when he attacked me. Your uncle Eric told me to leave before god-knows-what he did to that man," my little daughter went to reach out her hand to soothe Calleigh's shoulders. I could sense Eric wanting to go beside her and hug her so bad, but was forced to stay on our side.

"Thank goodness you're all right. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I didn't want to cause you more burden after what you've been facing recently, and the fact that you didn't ask me," the curves of her mouth grew wider as she smiled her ever famous and bright smile.

Anne made a face in return, before looking at me, "Please continue dad."

"All right, as you wish," I picked up my sunglasses, which was on the table, and began fiddling with it, "Sweetheart, it seems that the people who have tried to kidnap you, is not human."

Her jaws, along with Calleigh's flew open, so I continued to speak in a slower pace, hoping they would be able to catch up, "You've both felt it for yourselves. The speed and strength, you are both aware of it, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's true. But what are you exactly implying?" Calleigh gawked at me. I've noticed the small sound of friction as she curled her hand around Anne's.

This is it. There's no turning back, "My daughter, Calleigh. I'm afraid you were both fighting with a vampire there."

_Wait, what? _The two of them shook their hands, not being able to take it in. Anne kept repeating the same sentences over in her head: _There's no such thing as vampires. They don't exist. Father's lying, he has to be!_

"No, sweetheart. You've never heard me wrong, nor has I joke with you often. They exist," I hesitated before looking at my sunglasses, "I am but a vampire. I'm over 200 years old, well, if you count existence as your age."

Anastasia looked towards the rest of the living room on her left, "So, am I a vampire? Why don't I feel, you know, thirsty?"

It was Marisol's turn to speak, "No, you aren't, my love. You're a dhampire, which means you have the blood of half a vampire and half of a human. You may still have to drink some blood, but not all the time."

"So, that explains the red liquid. But how..?"

"How you became a dhampire? Well, I was a human before your father turned me after giving birth to you. I've almost died because it is an extremely long and hard process," I thought I heard a small gulp from the both of them, "As for Uncle Eric, he was turned when he was shot. It had almost taken his life during the exchanging of gun shots between rival gangs. If I wasn't in the scene at that time, your uncle wouldn't be here with us right now."

It's Calleigh's turn to speak now. I could tell that she was sad about her boyfriend becoming a vampire because of a tragedy, but she wanted to know more, "So, can I ask you about vampire facts?"

"Sure, anything for you my pumpkin," Eric smirked, showing lots of concern for her, like he always does.

"Right, firstly I do know you guys can come and walk out in the sun. How did you guys do that?"

The three of us showed our rings, made of lapis lazuli, each with distinct colours. Mine was ocean blue, whereas Marisol's was deep, blood red, and Eric's is a natural, floral green, "These helped us go out into the sun. It cannot be shared among others. If one of us lost the ring and stepped out into the sun, 'poof!' it goes, burning into ashes."

_Scary, _I heard my daughter murmur at the back of her head. Calleigh went on, "What about those myths pertaining Holy crosses, garlic and ugh, banishing-evil chanting?"

"Come on, dear Calleigh, you should know better than that!" Eric roared in laughter. I'm sensing that the both of them are actually enjoying each other's company, "We can go to church any day we like. In fact, we've been to Anne's first Holy Communion. I certainly do love garlic bread, but I don't like having bad breaths. And I don't leave when people chant banishing-evil things away from me. Telling me to go is good enough."

"Anne told me that she found blood on the floor when Marisol cried. Are you—?"

"Are you implying that us vampires cry blood? Yes, we do. It's not something we're proud of, and it's something we tried to keep away from humans because it shows them that we are different. And not only that, we have fangs, though they protrude only when we feed or are feeling angry, and you may have noticed that our skins are cold," Eric cocked his head forward.

We let the both of them take in deep breaths, trying to evaluate all that has happened, and will happen, "Speaking of which, where did you get the wolf from Anne?"

"Wolf? What wolf?" she's always doing the innocent look. Too bad she's now fifteen, and the fact that we have fallen for it millions of times, we've probably gotten used to it.

"Please don't lie to me, Anne. We've all seen it."

Feeling awkward, and letting out a silent 'Oh… Right,' she finally opened her mouth to speak, letting some of her hair fall over her face as she spoke, "The wolf just came up to me and attacked the kidnapper when I was in trouble. He would then start sending thoughts to me and we ended up walking home together, oblivious in our own conversation against the world."

"I'm afraid the wolf, isn't just any kind of wolf, my dear beloved Anne," I looked into my daughter, taking in everything of her for the first time. She was the same old Anne whom I spoke to every single day, but this time she was a bit, well, different. The 'bags' under her eyes seem to prove that, other than the hair getting frizzier as the day goes by. I can feel her losing energy, every single day. I felt bad not being able to relieve of the stress that she is in.

"What do you mean by that now, dad? You mean, vampires aren't just the only supernatural beings in the world?"

"I guess the wolf might have to tell you for himself," I gestured towards the giant creature walking towards our direction, with our servant Edward close by. A young, strong and bold black wolf nodded towards the elder, before walking towards us and jumping on the couch, cuddling next to Anne. Edward bowed and left the room immediately.

I must have sensed Anne's soft side, because she cuddled him closer to her and kissed the fur on his forehead, just between his ears, prompting a little growl of delight from the black wolf. Eric got annoyed, as he crossed his arms and glared at the two lovebirds, "Hey, these couches are expensive. Don't try to tear anything here, Wolfe."

I thought I heard Anne's heart skip a beat, "Wait. Did you say 'Wolfe', Uncle Eric? As in Ryan?"

"Why don't you tell him, smart guy? You're the one who's going to lead the pack very soon," Eric slurred at him. A deep growl penetrated from his animalistic body and was made audible, but he decided not to continue with the matter and looked back at Anne, _Hey there, dear Annie. Yes it's me. _

She squeezed him closer, something that Ryan must not have seen it coming, because I could hear him gasping for air, "Aww, hey there Ryan! Why didn't you tell me it's you all along? You're an adorable and sweet werewolf! I'm not scared at you at all."

She scratched his favorite spot, which is just behind his ears, before pulling his cheeks, _I'm sorry, I just don't know how to make it up to you, _I saw his jaws curving up, as though he is smiling, _Hmm. I think I could get used to this_; the young wolf had pure joy shown in his eyes before he went on to nuzzle Anastasia on the neck_. _

His cheekiness could only cause her to laugh and smile even more. She began examining the rest of his body, just like she usually did when she met other animals. She ran her hands through his fur and that was when she saw some shallow wounds, or so we thought, with blood streaming gently out of it.

"Oh, no. You need to get medical help **immediately**. Poor Ryan, you must be terribly injured," she looked back at me, staring at me with intense worry, just like a caring mother to her own child. The wolf could only duck his head, getting away from Anne's clutches, before prodding her on the ribs. _It's all right, I'll heal quickly. That's the beauty of us anyways. _

Instead, he was faced with a stern glare from his best friend, "No. I'll still want to help even if you didn't want me to." Knowing full well that he couldn't defeat the Delko-Caine's easily, he let out a sigh in defeat, _All right, you'll patch me up, and I'll tell you everything you need to know about me while you're doing it. _Looking back at me, his eyes were full of authority, bringing it out just for me to see: being the alpha, working in a job he has forgotten almost all of his knowledge in, as well as working in a foreign state, meeting foreign people, but mostly loving Anne. _Can I, H?_

"Yes, you may, Mr. Wolfe. But please, if you do anything to hurt her, I will personally come into the room and hit you, hard," like a normal teenager, Anne crossed her arms and rolled her eyes to the side, "Aw, come on mom! Dad! I know about and learnt from the kidnapping earlier, but with Ryan, really?"

I walked over towards her, kneeling beside her so that we were both on the same eye level, making contact, "I'm just being a good father for my daughter. After waiting for 200 years, when I thought it wasn't possible, you came into our lives. I became nervous in the first few weeks, buying all sorts of books from the internet just because I didn't really have the knowledge of babies and how to help them grow, but at least I've done the right thing and it's good for now," I bent closer and gently kissed her on her forehead.

Her eyes grew smaller as she continued staring at me, "What do you mean, 'good for now'?"

I let out a small laugh and embraced her to me. After 200 years of trying to control my hunger, I didn't feel the need to take her out when I'm close to her, least of all embracing her. Besides, I'm her father. Why would I do that? "Our dear, innocent Anne."

I broke the embrace after a few seconds, and bobbing my head up and down to let Ryan take Anne into the room, before coming back to sit on the couch. He began biting Anne's shirt and was slowly tugging her in the direction of their destination, _Anne, let's go. The world waits for no one, you know._

Anne looked at me for a moment, mouthing the words 'Thank you Dad', before beginning her walk to the room, closely followed by the wolf, rubbing his body against her legs. Anne went on to pat him gently on the head. The both of them seemed so compatible with each other, loving and caring each other even though they are very different from each other. Many people may turn against them, but they simply didn't care.

I felt a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, to find Marisol smiling at the scene unfolding before her. She laid her head on my shoulders and closed her eyes. _They are just like us, aren't they? Hearts full of love for each other, never wanting to leave. I think Anne has finally found her true companion. _

_Yes, she did, my love, _I edged in slowly and kissed her beautiful, sweet lips, bringing up my arm to soothe her small curls on her air, _she has finally made the most important choice in her life, well other than her studies and being the leader after me._

_Yes she did_, my other half of my life smiled at me as the both of us closed our eyes and breathe in the air around us, slowly and in rhythm with each other. I thought I heard the younger Delko chuff.

"_**When you're tired of aiming your arrows,  
><strong>__**Still you never hit the mark,  
><strong>__**Even in your rains and shadows,  
><strong>__**Still we're never gonna part."**_


	14. Chapter 13

_**A/N: **_**Voala! Took some time to study French yesterday evening and now I can post somemore. Let's just get this done and over with. :) Wherever you may be, I hope you guys have lots of fun putting on decorations on the Christmas tree and wrapping gifts for friends. :)**

**_DISCLAIMER: _As much as I hate to say this, CSI:Miami, characters like Grey and Casey, and the lyrics in bold black are not mine. They belong to CBS, YUMGirlAndMoltMan, and Coldplay respectively.**

**And the fact that they are awesome people. :D**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13:<strong>

Ryan's POV:

I gracefully leapt on the bedside as Anastasia went to close the door. I ran myself around in circles before finally finding the right spot, resting on it, all curled up. _Your bed sure is comfortable. _

"Why, thank you. You're welcome to rest on it, but Dad probably didn't like it when other people sleep with me," she let out a soft chuckle. Man, she's cute when she does that. She disappeared into her own bathroom, before coming back out towards me holding a first aid kit and a basin of water.

There was a gain of weight on the bed as she gently sat down, placing the first aid kit and basin on the night table. She went on to examine the wounds again, dipping a cotton ball into the basin, making sure that it was well soaked, before patting it gently on the wound. I let out a small groan of pain, in which it turns out to be an audible growl. Anne reacted to it by backing off awhile, stopping what she does best, but seeing the true feelings in my eyes, to feel that I am all right, she went back to cleaning the wound.

"I'm sorry it hurts so badly, Ryan. What happened to you? I'm pretty sure a wound as deep as this can't be caused by man."

Annie, Annie, _That's okay. I do really need to man up sometimes. That's what I'm destined to do. I just got into a fight with another animal. That's all._

After cleaning the wounds, making sure that it stopped leaking and has no dirt or bacteria surrounding them, she scurried through her first aid kit for a plaster and an iodine solution, before her shoulders dropped, "I forgot. The fur will actually obstruct the plaster so it won't stick. I hate to say this but," she looked at me, eye to eye, "is it okay if you change back?"

_That shouldn't be a problem now, would it, Anne? But I don't have any shirt on me now,_ my tail curled around her arm as her free hand went on to feel it. Her warm touch was perfect against my hot skin.

I rested my head on her knees when she crossed her legs, "That's okay. Just change back. I'll talk to Uncle Eric to see whether he got some shirts he might lend to you," I edged closer to her, feeling comfortable being around her, as she bent down and kissed the top of my head, just in between my ears. She felt like she was mean when she pushed my head gently, trying to go out of the room to ask Eric, but I raised my head, licked her cheeks in a form of a kiss, before backing off and trotting towards the toilet, closing the doors behind me by the tail.

I looked around at the toilet, surprised that a fifteen year old like her could keep her room, even her own bathroom, so clean. The tiles on the walls as well as the bathtub and toilet bowl were all sparkling, bringing this room to life. I would have expected a few servants to do it, but there's only one butler in the house, and he seems unsuitable to be doing those kinds of jobs due to his physical features. This felt like a bonus to me, to be able to have someone I love so much, and the fact that she could do household chores.

I closed my eyes, imagining myself back to becoming the old, hippy Ryan again, breathing in and out slowly. And before you knew it, I opened my eyes to find myself in nothing but a pair of ripped jeans wrapped around my bottom, the wounds beneath my chest still clearly shown. This is the third time I've transformed into a wolf, and after a few advices from my father, I've gotten better at it. I've managed my anger well, and the signs are certainly not out of my reach. I turned to look at the mirror, and everything felt different.

For once in the mirror, the man stood behind it has a more manly build body. His chest is bulging out with the most amounts of muscles a man could have, perfectly toned. The bags beneath his eyes were clearly gone, and his face was certainly tighter, showing no signs of stress or pressure. I noticed the slight difference in skin colour on his left arm, and true enough, as I looked over to mine, there was a little mark in a form of a scar below my "bee-poker" tattoo to remind me of who I am. A Wolfe.

I didn't really pay close attention to the grip of the sink, because the next second it broke, with one small piece still in my hands, while the rest are either hanging there, or have crumbled onto the floor. I let it fall on the ground, eyes widened and jaw dropped to its maximum flexibility.

I heard a few knocks on the door, hearing Anne's raised voice, "RYAN! Are you all right?"

I knew I've had no choice but to tell her the truth, so I unlocked the door and opened it slowly, "Anne, I could explain everything…"

She slammed the door opened, making sure I wasn't in the middle of the way, before pulling my arm with her hand, while the other holding on to a new black and white striped shirt, "That's not the matter right now! What matters now is that you're okay. Come on, I'll help you to clean up and bandage your palm. It's such a big mess!"

I sighed, shaking my head back and forth. She tends to be too overreacting, could she? I gave my famous glare, the one that I normally used when interrogating suspects, before going up to her, bending my knees so that I could sweep her up into my arms. That prompted a little 'Hey!' from her, as I made sure that my bloody palm didn't touch her, "You know you need to relax, right? It's just a scratch or two."

"Do you know of the multiple infections and diseases that you could get just from that little scratch? I don't want you to get that!" she brought up my bloody palm, examining it in great detail, as she leaned her head against my shoulders. She sure would make a good doctor one day, helping other people in need of help with whatever power she could.

I cocked my head so that it gets nearer to hers, as I took in her heavenly scent. We walked back into the room, well, when I said we, I meant me carrying her along the way; I went to place her gently on the bed. She kept on looking at my palm, which finished healing by then.

"How did you do that? That's amazing! One that I've never seen before," her head full of curiosity, like she always was. Then, I did something I wasn't supposed to do; I bent closer and kissed her cheeks, feeling sparks between us as I edged away from her. I smiled and my face reddened as she didn't freak out like she did when other people do surprise her now and then, but I changed into my 'serious Ryan look' the sooner Anne turned to look at me.

"You know, usually I would really freak out and run out of this bedroom. But this time, it felt different. I felt better since that kiss on the cheek," for the second time, I thought I saw her genuine smile again, but this time brighter and more cheerful than before.

"I could always do that again," I went over to the other side of the bed and joined in with her, pulling the warm blankets over our figure. I know I don't really bother about the cold nowadays, but at least I have more reason to cuddle closer to her.

"Sheesh, Ryan. You can be so cheeky," Anne smiled, before her mind brought back to the main objective. She pulled the blanket slightly away from us, revealing my toned chest yet again, but this time the skin was flawless. It was as if the scar didn't exist. She rolled her eyes, "Oh great. It healed."

"Yep, it did. When the wound is cleaned properly, it'll heal faster, just like a wound on a human," I rubbed up and down her waist, telling her to just relax, letting out a smile as a way of saying sorry. "Speaking of which, I saw you with a shirt earlier. Is it for me?"

"Ah, yeah, it is! I'm pretty sure Uncle Eric is bigger than you in terms of size, so the shirt shouldn't be a problem," she handed the shirt over to me, in which I took it from her, grabbing her arm in the process, and pulled her closer to me. "Thank you so much, I'm very sure it fits me perfectly."

As I put on the shirt, I was surprised not only to see it fits my size, but also my style as well. Am I really that obvious to her? Or is it just fate that she knows almost everything about me, just as much as I knew about her. She ran her hand through the shirt, trying to smoothen out the edges, and sniffles some laughs when I saw the sleeves has been shorter, revealing my tattoo and the mark.

"Nice tattoo you have. I don't normally like people with tattoos on them. I think it's against the commandment. But as for yours, I think it's really interesting. When did you get it?"

I shrugged, trying to bring my mind back to the event itself, "probably about five years ago. It was painful, and excruciating, but I want for it to be done."

_Noble Ryan, _Anne smiled to herself at the thought, "Does my dad know about it? And how on earth could you become a cop without revealing the tattoo?"

"You know your dad, of course he knows everything," both of us chuckled in unison at the evaluation. It came naturally for all of us whom worked or have ever been with the ever famous Lieutenant. "I'd buy a really big shirt for my uniform, comfortable enough to run in but also have a sleeve long enough to cover my tattoo. Turns out its two sizes too big."

The both of us lied down on the soft bed, as she bent over to pull the blankets between us. We continued talking for the next hour or so, with me telling her of my life, about being an alpha of the pack and generally growing up, and in exchange she, too, told me about her life. Through this, the both of us realized that we have many things in common; parents who want the best for us, lots of friends and some foes in schools, and generally the intelligence.

Out of the blue, Anastasia stifled a yawn. I pulled her into my arms, in which she allowed me to, and glanced up at the 'Winnie-The-Pooh' wall clock; it read 1:00 in the morning, wee in the morning, "Oh dear, Anne. I'm sorry that you have to sleep so late."

"That's okay. It only happens once in awhile, I don't really mind about it," she was very much exhausted, I could tell, but she managed a smile in the end. The both of us moved closer to each other, and closed our eyes as sleep comes naturally to us, my arms wrapped around her lean figure, while she leans her head against my chest.

Anastasia's POV:

Sleep comes easily to me, and that is something that makes me, well, unique. But never in my life have I ever had a sensible dream. They are all weird to me. However, tonight's dream was the scariest of them all:

_I'm in the woods: trees and every plant that is registered in this planet were in it. I don't even know how I got here in the first place. The path was paved with nothing but mud, leaves and sometimes branches. I jerked my head as a sound protruded the still sounds of wildlife, only to find out that it was the squawking of the bird, signaling the day approaching,_

_Or danger. _

_I began to walk on the path that was laid in front of me, taking in every step with caution. I don't want to accidentally step on a creature. I'm not really that scared whether or not it's dangerous, I just can't stand the thought about hurting them. As I accidentally stepped on a branch, I immediately stopped and took a good look around, telling myself not to keep my heart rate up. Instead, the plan didn't work, and my heart is thumping against my chest, loudly._

_I decided to continue walking in my usual pace, trying to look normal and just take in the beauty that the man above has provided me. As I kept on walking, I thought I smelt a faint scent of an organism which is rotting. I quickly ran towards the direction of the scent, trying to make out what kind of animal it could be, so that I may bury it in peace. _

_I regretted doing that, because the instant I got over there, my eyes widened and my jaw dropped to the ground. I could only stand there and take in the surroundings, frozen in shock:_

_They were dead bodies, strewn on the ground. Neither of them was a pretty sight, and it's as if an animal, or another vampire, has destroyed their lives, killing them for the culprit's own good. Their chests have holes in them, and they are rotting not to the ground for plants, but to ashes. But they aren't just any beings; that's my family. _

_I went over to father, whose fingers in both his hands and feet has disintegrated, "Dad, dad, are you there? Don't die! Listen to me!" I shook his body, in hopes that he would revive like he always do, but he was silent, never moving, and completely lifeless even for a vampire. _

Ryan,_ his name came forth into my mind, as I went up towards his body, doing the same thing I did to father, but this time harder and faster, "Ryan, I love you. I've wanted to tell you this earlier and for a long time, but I didn't have the courage to. I don't want you to leave me alone, please."_

_I let out a tear, something that I wished I had never done. I wished that my family are back safe and sound, to be able to be comforted and loved by them. I know it's impossible, but I kept on wishing, deep down inside of me. _

_A voice suddenly came out of nowhere, "What's wrong Anastasia? Feeling a little blue?"_

_No one dares to talk me back like that when I'm feeling sad, especially if it is the death of my family members and my secret love, "Why don't you come out yourself? You little coward!"_

_I stood up straight, looking around the trees for signs of visual contact, instead, there were none. I felt myself and found a pocket knife on my back pocket, I took it out, and was ready for combat._

_Instead, the sound of a shot ricochet through the air, and a bullet went straight pass my chest. So this is what 'taking a bullet' feels like. _

_I struggled trying to look at the person who is doing this to me, but with the amount of blood lost, and the heart rate rapidly decreasing it's speed, I fell, back first, on the ground. My eyes tried to maintain the sight, but sooner or later my eyelids fell, and I thought I saw a dark figure in a sweater before feeling like I was falling through the Earth, deep down into an unknown world. _


	15. Chapter 14

_**A/N: **_**2 in a row today! Whooppeee! But please prepare youselves. This is one of the longest chapters I've written, and by long, I mean _really _long. So brace yourselves! **

**_DISCLAIMER: _I wished I own the most amazing characters in my television show CSI:Miami, the lyrics from my favourite Indie-Rock band Coldplay, and some of the characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan, but I can't. (Sulking in the corner)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14:<strong>

Ryan's POV:

I woke up to the startling sounds of Anastasia's screams, as she sat up straight and pulled her legs closer to her, bracing herself from something. I looked up at the wall clock; it only read three in the morning.

I got up, going near, her, "Anne, sweetheart, are you all right?"

She looked up at me, eyes full of distress, while mouthing a few words, "Ryan… is that you? You're alive?" before she went on the embrace me, tight enough for a young dhampire, never wanting to let me go, "RYAN! Thank goodness you didn't leave me!" a few tears escaped her eyes as they slid down her cheeks and fall onto my lap.

I returned the embrace and soothed her back with my hands, one which could claw unto a creatures chest and will take a long time to heal, "What's wrong, Annie? I know I wouldn't leave you. Now why do you think that way?"

The door slammed open, and just as always, Marisol came first into the room, sitting on the bed next to Anne, and began soothing her with her voice, "Anne, its mum. Are you all right? Did you have a nightmare again that night?"

The head leaning against my chest rubbed up and down in agreement. Marisol sighed as she reached out her hand to rub her hair. Normally I would slap it away as being the protective one over his future fiancé, but Marisol's her mother, and I can't do that, "The dreams gone sweetheart, you're safe and sound right here at home." Horatio and Eric stood behind her, arms crossed and eyes looking more serious than ever.

After a few sobs, and much to my disappointment, she pushed herself gently away from me, and nodded her head repeatedly. I let my hand brush away some of her hair dangling in front of her face as she looked up at her mother, "I was in the woods, and then I started walking because I'm scared of being attacked. I smelt something and immediately followed the scent, and that's when I realized that the scent was caused by the rotting of a living organism and it turns out to be you guys. A voice sounded and I stood up, picking up my knife and yelling towards the empty forest, but he or she shot me and I died."

Feeling worried for her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, her back facing against me. I pulled her back gently towards my chest, and muttered a simple, "I'm sorry you've gotten scared, my little Annie," on her ears, before kissing her shoulders.

Anastasia rested her hands on my arms and shrugged. The room was silent for a moment, before I opened my mouth to speak, "Do you think the dreams can be some sort of message?"

"Could be, Ryan. I don't know for sure, but I kept on having nightmares lately, regarding vampires and werewolves, maybe it's because I am one," Anne heaved out a long sigh, leaning her head forward. I rested my chin on her shoulders, eyes full of guilt and sadness for my beloved girl.

Marisol came up with an idea, "Why don't you have a dreamless sleep? You sure do need it, after all those torturous sleeps and waking up in the wee hours of the morning. Your dad can help you."

"That's right, my love. I can, by hypnotism," Horatio sat down beside Marisol, eyeing Anne like a hawk.

"Isn't hypnotism, well you know, dangerous?" Anne was being her usual self. I could tell that she doesn't like taking risks.

"No, darling, no," Horatio raised out his hand and soothed her cheeks with his fingers, rubbing it slowly back and forth, as if respecting his daughter's feelings, "You'll just sleep and you'll wake up when I told you to. It'll be all right. Besides, you have your mother here to protect you."

"All right," Anne broke from our little embrace and set about getting comfortable on the bed, "So how do I wake up?"

"Don't worry about that love, when the alarm clock rings," Horatio went about fixing the clock for six in the morning, "You'll be up and ready to go for school, all right?"

"Hmm…Okay," Anne mumbled as I nuzzled her neck with deep affection, before getting out of the bed so that both of her parents could occupy each sides, sandwiching Annie in the middle.

With Anastasia tugged in nicely in her blanket, finding a comfortable spot on her pillow, and clutching to her two soft toys, Marisol kissed her gently on her forehead, before looking up at Horatio, "Let's do this." Eric and I just stood there, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, still doubting to ourselves whether or not this could work.

Horatio instructed her to close her eyes and to breathe in and out slowly, in which she did so. As her heart beat slowed down to a calm and relax mode, Horatio nodded to his wife, and leaned in closer to her, "When I count to ten, I want you to be able to rest without having a dream. One, two…"

As Horatio goes down the number line, sweats began rolling down my forehead. _What if it doesn't work? What should I do by then? _A finger poked my ribs, only to find Eric glaring at me before shaking his head, letting out a small grin before he frowned again. _Hypnotism is based on belief, and I believe that my sister is telling the truth, so stop acting all worried. Anne's going to be fine. _

_Okay, whatever you say, _I sent the thought back to him as Horatio finished counting, "…nine, ten." And sure enough, Anne's eyes are still closed, with her hands still holding on to her stuffed animals, lost in a deep sleep. Horatio bent forward and pressed his lips against her forehead in a fatherly manner, before getting up and walking towards us.

As he passed by the both of us, Eric suddenly grabbed my arm and the three of us left the room. I tried to struggle my way out, but his grip is stronger than mine. Might have been because he's older than me by age. As we walked out of the door and into the hallway, Horatio closed the door behind him and Eric pulled me towards the wall in front of us, with a big 'slam!'

"Hey! What is the deal man?" I roared back at him, completely oblivious to my little sweetheart sleeping in the room opposite us. Eric is still holding on to my left wrist, making it impossible to escape.

Horatio rubbed his temples, using his fingers to create circles just above his ears, before looking back at his employees, "Anastasia told you once that I didn't like people, especially men, to sleep with her at any time. What makes you so special?" Eric shook me, just to make sure I didn't incidentally build castles in the air.

"I… just want to accompany her, H. She's clearly having a few bad days lately," I shrugged. It's best if I tell the Lieutenant the truth now, rather than facing his punishment for lying later on.

Eric shoved me against the wall again, "Of course. Everyone would say the same thing. Why you? What do you want from her?"

Him treating me just like a useless, selfish moron completely sets me on fire. I glared back at him, not caring whether the werewolf gene is taking over me again. I could see Eric smiling, as if he's been silently asking for it the whole time, "Don't make me kill you here and now. I would, but I have Anne to think about. I love her so much and there's nothing you can do to stop me from caring for her," I spat a little into his face, "and she **asked** for it."

_There's our real Wolfe, _Eric kept on his smug expression as his free hand went on to wipe my saliva off his face, "You're nowhere near her league, Wolfe. Just forget about it."

He's pushing it way over the line, "**DON'T. MAKE. ME.**" I solemnly looked into his eyes, jaws clenched together, letting out a fierce growl. I waited for the moment when his hands are weak upon mine, before pushing it and his body away.

"That's the spirit, Wolfe! Now come on, hit me with everything you got!" Eric mocked me, getting up from the floor and slapping his hand on his chest a few times. My growls got louder and louder as I walked up towards him, but before I could transform and attack him, savaging him of **everything** I could possibly get my hands to, the door, which is next to the wall that I've been pushed against, creaked open. Calleigh walked out of the room, rubbing her eyes while it adjusting towards the lights, "Hey guys. What's going on? I heard a commotion and decided to come outside."

She would then glare at Eric, "Why aren't you in bed, Delko? It's half past three in the morning and here you are making sudden noises. And look," she glanced at the hole made on the wall before turning back to the three of us, "You've been fighting in the morning? What exactly happened?"

Eric looked at me, disgust marked all over his face, as he walked towards his bride and carried her in his arms, "I'm sorry, my pumpkin. I'll tell you everything once we get into the room, all right?"

"Please don't call me that," Calleigh sulked, earning a laugh from Eric as the both of them went back to their bedroom and Eric gently shuts the door, with a small 'click'.

I turned to look back at Horatio, "Look, H. I'm sorry if I didn't ask you for your permission first. But it's just that we sparked for the first time, and I just want to keep it going. And the fact that she's a dhampire made it all worse."

Unknowingly, Horatio was standing a few inches in front of me, as his hands went on to pat my shoulders, "I've always known you're the one."

"What do you mean by that? Why didn't you tell me?" I looked away from his gaze, unto the unseeingly bright brown walls. A heard a sigh from him as the patting stopped, "You've just gotten a test, and you passed it."

"What? So you were spying at me all along?" I grumbled at the nod Horatio gave me, "Thanks a lot, H. But does that mean I get to be beside Anne for all her life?"

He let out a small smile, something that he hasn't done in a long time, maybe in forever. It feels weird seeing your boss smile, "She's free to choose. You have both of our blessings."

My heart instantly skipped a few beats, as if it was leaping and back flipping in joy. I've never felt that much happier in my life. "Yes! Thank you, H. Thank you so much!" I shook the hands of my soon to be father-in-law, and was making my way back into the room when his last sentence rang in my head, "Remember, Mr. Wolfe. If you dare hurt my daughter, I'll make sure you wished you would never have done that."

I turned to look around, but there was nothing but a gust of wind flowing through my face. Giving a slight 'Humph!', I made my way back to the bedroom.

"_**How long before I get in?  
>Before it starts, before I begin?<br>How long before you decide?  
>Before I know what it feels like?<br>Where to, where do I go?  
>If you never try, then you'll never know.<br>How long do I have to climb,  
>Up on the side of this mountain of mine?"<strong>_

Anastasia's POV:

The sleep, for the first time, was comforting. I've had no nightmares, and I'm definitely recharged for the day ahead. The day passed by so quickly, or maybe it's because its just like any other day. All I could remember other than the lessons held today, was the kissing of my parents on the cheeks, telling them how much I love them and thanking them for the sleep I had in the morning, even though it's only for three hours.

The school bell rang, marking the end of another school day. I stuffed my Mathematics homework and textbooks into my backpack, along with my water bottle and my pencil case, face full of anxiety of what I am to expect this afternoon. Maxwell told us to meet up in the usual spot as he had some new investigations for us to find out. Sometimes, I do tend to wonder where he got all these 'investigations' from.

I walked straight towards the whiteboard, cleaning it of all the equations our Math teacher left today. I didn't even bother looking behind when I heard Tom snicker and yelled at the back of the class, "Anne's a nerd and our maid!", half-expecting the class to look at him again, but this time it didn't, and his heart sank. I knew deep down inside, he missed being the attention of the class. Now he's just an attention seeker.

After placing the whiteboard eraser on the designated area, I walked out of the room and went straight towards the school's library. It was as if I am in book heaven, as the large room was stocked by shelves and shelves of books, fiction and non-fiction, towering towards the ceiling. I could spend hours, if not, days, being cooped up there like a chicken in its cage, reading books of different genres, never wanting to go home.

And there in the middle of it all is a beautiful room. Some might say it is too small, but I think it's big enough, so long as all the members could fit into and be able to move around it. As I opened the door and walked towards my usual seat, Maxwell welcomed us back for another week, "Hey there guys! Welcome back to another Wednesday. I know it's been a tiring few weeks since school starts, but trust me, today's activity will blow **your** mind!"

I seriously can't wait.

He walked behind the teacher's desk within the room and took out a few pieces of paper. However, rather than the usual white, clean sheets of papers with printed words on it, it is of a yellowish-brown colour, and from the distance I could see that the form of message is in a handwriting. Everyone must have felt the same as me, anxiety, because all of us let out an 'Ooh!' as he gave out each piece of paper to each individual.

"Intriguing isn't it, guys? I knew you'll be refreshed as soon as you're on this task," he smiled, being a good leader for the team, "and what's more? These papers are different in clues so you'll find more adventure working alone than in a team! It's time to discover things by yourself. It's called gaining self-confidence!"

I looked at my own paper, and found out that it is written in French. It read:

"_**Je fournis les réponses curieux. Je leur donne la puissance dont ils ne peuvent pas découvrir en eux-memes. Je leur donne l'espoir pour l'avenir. Je les laisse l'expérience de la douleur et la joie dans le monde des visages, tous dans cette salle, en leur fournaissant les matériaux dans lesquels ils peuvent posséder." **_

No matter, I've learnt some French when I was young, and I guess this time I could put it into good use. After a few reads and massive flips of the French Dictionary Maxwell have provided us, I knew where the clue is leading me to:

"_**I provide the curious answers. I give them the power in which they cannot uncover within themselves. I give them hope for the future. I let them experience the pain and the joy the world faces, all in this place, by providing them the materials in which they can possess." **_

Obviously, it can't be any of the sports facilities and gatherings the school could be, and that's because of the word 'knowledge', so that leaves us with the classrooms, and the library. I took a few more glances before my light bulb flashed. 'Providing the materials in which they can possess', it has got to be a lab, and there's only one such lab in the school, which of course, is the science lab.

I quickly walked out of the room, joined by others, and chatted about our clues, before parting ways into each of the respective places. I have a bad feeling down in my gut when I joined this club, and assigned today's challenge, but I ignored it and plowed on, hoping that everything would turn out fine.

Wished I would've listened to it.


	16. Chapter 15

_**A/N: **_**Oh yeah the French examinations are over! Now I'm back on track. Do check back on my profile for more stories. :) And let's continue people! **

**_DISCLAIMER: _Do we have to go through this again? Coldplay lyrics, CSI:Miami and characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan's story is taken. I didn't really plan on taking them anyway. I like it where it belongs. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15:<strong>

Maxwell's POV:

I leaned against the teacher's table as the members went out to find for their next clue, smiling with glee and excitement, all the more curious as to what they are about to discover. The plan was working out smoothly; they just didn't know it yet. One by one, each of them will be abducted into our lair, which meant more food to eat. I licked at the thought of it. More blood to try, more power to gain.

_I've done what you wish, father, _I bowed my head a little and smiled to myself.

_Well done, my son. You have been a good child, now let us get this done and over with so that we could go back to the feast at home. _

_Where do you reckon I should go first, father? _I looked up into the room. The room happens to fit the phrase "Action speaks louder than words", filled with beautiful colours and textures. I'm going to miss this place.

_Start from the low rank up, but leave Anastasia for the last. Your mother would very much appreciate it, _the tone at the end sounded as if he is smiling. _Now, move out._

I walked out straight from the room, taking out my mobile phone as I go along. I nodded my head towards the librarian as a form of greeting before leaving the library. I knew I wouldn't be coming back soon or maybe in forever. I looked at the mobile phone, staring at the names of my victims, picking out the sequence of orders.

I continued walking down the hallway, smiling at each one of my schoolmates. They don't know this is going to happen yet, what is going to happen to their fellow schoolmates. I looked at the place that my very first victim would be doing one of his investigations; the multi-purpose hall.

I stood outside the door, taking deep breaths, readying myself for the kidnapping again, but this time, it is going to be on a grand scale. Reassuring myself, I pushed down the levers, opening both doors into the familiar basketball arena with seats surrounding both sides of it. And there he is, perched on the seats writing down notes for the club, is the youngest and the most diligent member of the club, William.

"Hey, Will! How's it going? I see that you're taking down notes. Long as usual?"

"Hey there Max! Long as usual," he looked up at me and smiled sweetly. Just wait until I wipe it off his face. I gave him a crooked smile as I edged in closer, step by step. _Remember son, the prey will truly come to those who waits patiently, _my father's voice boomed in my head, reminding me of the briefing before the operation proceeds.

"May I see it?" I tried to ease any of his suspicions by pretending to be his best friend.

"Of course you can!" he laughed out loud, being the cheerful, carefree person he usually is, "Who do you think I was writing for? A ghost?"

His scent was so intense that I've forgotten to hide my features. I didn't drink lately and this must have been affecting my behavior, weak and almost unable to move quickly to anywhere. I walked nearer to him, to see his face turn pale as my fangs start to become longer and my eyes change colour. I could sense his heart quickening, and his anxiety rising. I took out the cloth in which I've soaked in chloroform, preparing for the abduction. This is going to be easy.

I raised both ends of my lips in a smile, "What's wrong Will? Seen a vampire?"

Anastasia's POV:

I stopped in front of a wooden door, sighing to myself as I have found the place. I entered as the sign read, "**Science Lab**". I looked around the room as my hand pushed the door, closing it into its usual side, taking in the surroundings. Maxwell specifically asked us to look for more clues that could lead us towards the next room, bringing each evidences along the way, just like usual.

I began looking around the room, in specific detail, for anything out of the ordinary. I may tend to be too serious in my work to look around and sense as if something is amidst. The benches and the chairs seemed to be clean, so I went towards the shelf. I picked up each and every test tube, looking inside the contents for some mystery liquid, all the more wondering myself what I could actually be looking for. As I peered inside, a voice brought me out of my concentration; causing me to let the test tube slip and it came crashing to the floor, letting out a fierce crash and lots of bits coming out in every direction.

_Thank goodness its iodine solution_, I sighed. _It wouldn't corrode me._

I turned around to see who the person in the lab might be, but there's no one in sight. The creepier thing is, I didn't see anyone in the lab at all, but my gut feels the other way. I had to make sure, "Hello? Is anyone there? Show yourself if you're not a coward!" I never liked pranks.

"Oh it's just me, sweetie," a figure suddenly lurks out from the shadows near the curtains and sat on one of the benches. A broad grin shown on her face, and a pair of fangs were in sight. My eyes grew wide in horror; she isn't any human, she's a vampire, just like my parents and uncle.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" I shivered at my spot, chills running down my spine just by looking at her. But for some reason, I seemed to have a sense of déjà vu, as if I've seen her somewhere in my life before.

I stood there, frozen as ice as she got out of the bench and walked towards my left, running her hands through my cheeks. My brain gets racked out of everything, but it's still not getting anything! She continued soothing it, before making a large slit with her nails. I grunted in pain, clearing all of the thoughts on my mind and focusing on the wound, "What the heck are you doing?"

"Just doing something for your father," she did a cat-grin, before feeling her pockets and taking out a damp towel. A scent of chloroform surrounded the air, I thought I was going to faint, but then I realized that she was going to abduct me rather than killing me straight on the spot, drinking my blood. _Why does everyone keep doing that to me?_

I dodged, bending myself forward so as to surprise her and to veer myself away from the towel. I pushed her away and tried running for the door, but she was too fast, and in one swift move, her hands were on my shoulders and she pushed me to the ground, crushing me in her own weight.

I tried to squirm out of her 'embrace', but she was too strong. I rolled my eyes at the thought, _next time I need to ask father what makes a vampire weak. Seriously. _"What has father got to do with this? I joined the club and did this on my own free will!"

She didn't hesitate one bit as the damp cloth covered all of my mouth, "Listen, it's because of you my life is miserable. He shouldn't be your father. He should be MY husband, and your mother stole him from ME…"

I was going to blacken out, but I kept listening to the speech that she gave me for a few more seconds, letting out a _Man, she's selfish._

"**I'm NOT selfish,**" her words screamed into my left ear, "It's payback time."

And with that, I was engulfed into nothing but the cold, dark world full of despair, feeling something pulling me before my whole body feels numb.

Ryan's POV:

I had been in a good mood lately. Anne just became one of my best friends and we were going into the relationship just as I hoped it should be. I was squirting some luminol into the shirt that the first victim of a vampire killing, Alicia Rider, hoping to find some blood or biological on the shirt, when I felt something missing in my chest. My hand went up to feel it, just as it was naturally assigned to do, but it felt there. I eyebrow cocked up at the thought.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Horatio speaking to Eric, Frank and Calleigh, the four of them glancing at me every now and then, but continued being serious in their discussion. Using my superhuman sense of listening, I decided to intervene into their conversation, noticing the Texas slang "…she's disappeared. Just like all of her schoolmates that happen to be in the same club as her."

It was Eric's turn to speak now, "Frank, how many are there?"

"Fifteen, with Alicia Rider included. I checked the list. Police officers are going to each and every house of families that these children have. We need to find them, Horatio."

I took out the UV ray and looked at the victim's shirt in greater detail, while my brain pieced the puzzles together. I didn't quite make out either cases, but Horatio's next few words brought it all together:

"Don't tell Ryan this. He's going to be super upset and let it get in the way, killing our suspects."

I dropped all that I am doing and walked out of the room immediately, and into the circle, "What do you mean leave me out of this? What **happened **to Anne?"

Everyone suddenly became quiet; no one was uttering a single word. Fueled with rage, I grasp the young Delko on the collar and yelled in front of him, "I KNOW SHE'S IN TROUBLE! I COULD FEEL IT MYSELF! NOW WHERE IS SHE?"

Calleigh, Frank and Horatio tried pulling me back from the grasp, but I wouldn't budge. Not even for the world, "Stop keeping things for me! The sooner or later I would have to find out for myself," I pulled his face closer to mine and spit on it, "Now **tell me**."

Eric just stared at me, but this time he didn't fighting back, "She's been kidnapped, and one of our suspects happen to be Horatio's arch nemesis. Now would you let me go?" he glared back at me, this time with immense power. I looked towards Calleigh and Horatio, whom both nodded, encouraging me to do so, and I pushed him away from me. Eric straightened his shirt while Calleigh patted my head. I do need one like that sometimes, and I miss it when Anne does that to me.

I hung low as my eyes drooped, comforting myself to the pat, "What should we do now, H?" But his sentence only made me brought me back to the planet of disappointment, "I guess we may have to pray and hope for the best, Mr. Wolfe. I could still feel her presence, which means she's still alive, but barely in good physical shape. We know it's the Akrisons who killed Alicia Rider and kidnapped the students in the 'Detectives' Club', but they tend to hide themselves pretty well. We may have trouble finding out their location. They make sure that the people there don't have access to phones or anything which we could track down with."

"Akrisons?"

Calleigh showed me a file containing notes and photographs. It's not in the usual CSI case, but it is properly designed for something important, something personal, "Yeah. Grey and Casey Akrisons. Apparently, they have two children, and the both of them went into the same school as Anne. Maxwell," she pointed towards the blonde, brown eyed young boy, "is the leader of the club that Anne joined."

"This is no coincidence, H," I muttered to myself. I always knew he would catch what I hear. The elevator rings it's bell, signaling the arrival to it's floor, prompting us to look back. It's not something we would usually react to, but this time it was simply unusual. The door opened and the beautiful mother of Anastasia Caine, walked out of the doors, and into the circle. She was wearing high heels, but that doesn't stop her from walking just as fast as without wearing one and slid herself into Horatio's arms.

"Sweetheart, they took Annie. They took our little daughter away," she sobbed unto his shoulders, letting out a small wet patch on his black jacket. Seeing the little family torn apart, I decided to chip in and help, "I've got a way. It might take awhile but it would help."

All of them eyed me, except for Marisol who is still weeping, face down, on her husband's chest. Horatio lovingly wrapped his arms around her, soothing her of the distress, "Talk to me, Mr. Wolfe."

"Well, I probably have a couple mates around the corner. From there, I'll be able to get the best trackers in the country and we'll sniff her scent into their hiding spot," I look into Horatio's eyes for a second, feeling sadness and fatigue coming from him. This isn't like him at all.

"All right then, it'll take time, but let's do it," the Lieutenant answered solemnly, back to being his own self, before turning to Eric and Calleigh, "Marisol and I will go to the elders to ask them for their help, while Eric, please take good care of Calleigh," and turning to Frank, "here we go again Frank. Better watch yourself."

Nodding in agreement, with everyone knowing what they should do, we split up and went to do our respective duties, all with one thing in our minds: To bring Anastasia home safe and sound.

As for me, now it's time to face my true brothers and sisters.

"_**Confusion never stops,  
>Closing walls and ticking clocks,<br>Gonna, come back and take you home,  
>I could not stop that you now know."<strong>_


	17. Chapter 16

_**A/N:**_** Yeah! Second post for the night! Typing so fast cause my dad's waiting for his turn. The beauty of a shared computer. :D Just had my very first basketball training, and to be honest, it isn't that bad. I just need more training, and I'm planning on jogging around my neighbourhood tomorrow. Get rid of that extra fat. The right way. :'D**

**Oh, and one more thing. HAPPY HANNUKAH for those who are celebrating. I don't. :\**

**_DISCLAIMER: _Ho Ho Ho, Since I'm not Santa Claus, I can't claim everything, that includes the characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan's vampiric story between Horatio and Anisa, CSI:Miami, and lyrics from Coldplay. Can't say that I didn't own this story though. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16:<strong>

Marisol's POV:

I could still remember the meetings I had with the elders a decade ago, even before Anastasia came into our lives. They were disgusted by my presence, telling Horatio that humans are _meant to be slaves and food. _Poor Horatio, he must have gone through a lot for me. If it hasn't been for Yelina, the only female elder, and her power to see the newborns, I would have been in dirty clothes, feeling weak and without adequate food or water, or even dead. Anastasia would have never ceased to exist.

The sun began to set as we arrived into the familiar mansion, it's very antique, being more than 500 meters high and is set to be built around the Italian renaissance. It still has a nice touch around it, even towards the minor details such as the staircase and the door handle. Horatio stopped the Hummer just in front of its roundabout, cutting its engine off, before turning to look at me, "Sweetheart, if you don't want to do this, we could find some other way."

His hands went from the handbrakes, to cup my hands, looking at me with longing eyes as I shook my head heavily, "That's okay, Horatio. I want my daughter back and sound, if that's what it takes."

He singlehandedly took my hand and pressed his lips on it, "Anything for you, my love." He then went on to open his door and in a few seconds, he was standing behind the car door from where I was seating, opening the door and waiting for me to get out of the car safely, being the perfect gentleman.

I slowly got out from the car, being extra careful not to slip and fall since the Hummer does have a high suspension. I accidentally missed my footing on the step, but Horatio caught me before my face could kiss the floor. I smiled and gave a peck on his cheeks, "Oh, thank you for that."

"No problem," he smiled as he helped me to regain my balance. I straightened my suit as Horatio let out a chuckle, "You know sweetheart, fashion isn't really helpful at times."

I rolled my eyes and stuck out my tongue at him, being the childish little girl I always am, "Yes, thank you, Mr. Caine. It can be quite cumbersome, yeah I get it." I looked at him again, just as he reached his hand out for me, palm up. I could still remember the first dance at the wedding, with him doing the exact same thing. It was the sweetest thing he had ever done to me, even if it is such a small act.

"Shall we, my sweetheart?" I smiled as my hand went around his, and we started heading for the mansion. On the way towards the inside of the building, a manly figure was leaning against one of the pillars. Horatio slipped out a growl as both of us recognized the person. It's Rick Stetler.

"Tsk. If it isn't Captain America and his wife. You've woken us up quite early again, Horatio. If this keeps up, the elders wouldn't like it. This had better be good," Rick looked away into the distance with sarcasm, something that Horatio and I didn't really like about him. It's a good thing he didn't get promoted to a Lieutenant in the police force either. Served him right.

"Oh, this is good _Rick_," Horatio emphasized on his name, as if his mouth has just tasted something awful, "You might want to come around and see," he jerked my arm, not too harsh in case he hurts me by accident, and went straight for the wooden structures that would lead us into the meeting.

"Sure, I'll be there," groaned Rick as the doors closed behind us.

I looked around the room again, taking in the new things that I've never seen before with my vampiric eyes. When I entered the room before, everything was dim; I could only see slight patterns of the elders' faces. I couldn't even remember the turn by turn directions into the meeting room myself.

But now that I could see it clearly, my eyes widened to our surroundings, as reality kicks in. The common room that we are currently in consists of vampires and humans, except the fact that the humans themselves were kneeling on the floor, begging for possible essential items like food and water, or even affection. The bad thing is: the vampires only looked away and talked to their comrade, ignoring them completely, or busy punishing them.

_I'm sorry you have to see this, sweetheart. These people certainly aren't the reasons I'm proud of, _Horatio's voice echoed in my mind.

I looked back at his face, not planning to look at the devastation any longer, _That's okay, Horatio. It's just that, sometimes, we need to see things for ourselves. I know its bad, but it's for our own good. _

_All right sweetheart, _we continued walking down a path before we reached a set of double doors. They were clearly engraved with flower patterns and that the material was made out of pure gold. Not the type that you would find in the Hawaiian beach, yet the Florida bays.

As we reached the doors, Horatio took one last glance at me, _Ready, my love?_

_I'm ready, _I gave him a few nods, just to make sure, before opening the doors and entering a sort of dark cave. It has chairs and a large table that is high enough so that the person would have to look up when being interrogated, the kind that would give you a sense of insecurity, of being small.

Heads turned as we continued walking, before stopping in the middle of the semicircle, awaiting orders. The elders were discussing a certain issue earlier, but stopped once we entered the room. "Ah, if it isn't Horatio Caine and his wife."

"Good evening, elder Aaron," Horatio instructed me once on what we should do when we were on the road, and remembering it for now, the both of us bowed in front of them, not saying another word.

"Word comes around that you've needed our help this time. I hope Anastasia is in good shape? I do tend to miss her presence," the leader of the elders, seated in the middle, began tapping his fingers impatiently on the table, leaning forward.

"That's the problem, your highness," Horatio didn't want to use the word **highness**, but that's the only way around here, to give respect to someone who has lived a longer time and seen more things than you, "You see, she's been kidnapped."

"She's WHAT?" Aaron stood up in an instant, while the others murmured to themselves. On my right, elder Yelina's eyes seemed as if it is going to pop out when she heard the news, "When was she kidnapped? This has got to be your entire fault, Horatio! How could you let your, I meant **our**, precious little gem get lost?"

Horatio's blood pressure, if he has one, was rising rapidly, but he managed his cool. He didn't want to fight back and end up losing our choice of help, "She was in school when it happened, your highness. I believe the person whom abducted her is related to Grey. I think that he and Casey had a family."

The room suddenly became a fish market with all the discussions going on between the elders and those who attended today's meeting, only to be hushed by the leader, "Grey and Casey together? That explains her disappearance. And this time we're not letting Grey escape again. Once, it's all right. Another time…, no it's impossible for him to escape again."

"So, is that a 'yes' then, your highness?" Horatio looked up at him, eyeing me for a second on the way.

"A 'yes' it is then, Horatio. We'll keep you updated about our plans, as for now, make sure you could contact her, keep her in touch and make sure she's alive, so that we could locate her and hopefully find her in time," both of us heard a groan from behind, turning around the find Rick crossing his arms and being all annoying again, "Don't you ever get tired from talking about 'Anne this and Anne that' all the time?"

There was a gust of wind beside me and Horatio was clutching Rick by the neck, pushing him against the tile wall, which has broken into small little cracks around Rick's body, "Got a problem with that, Rick? You know, you shouldn't let your jealousy take over you at times. It can be very, very annoying."

I love it when he gets all angry for his family, even though it could be a bad thing considering that he was in a thin line between justice and murder, but it's good that he lets out the extra power he had in him for a long time. I walked up towards him and placed a comforting but firm hand on his shoulders, _Horatio, please don't do this. He's not worthy of your attention. _

He turned to look back at me, eyes shining brightly in an ocean blue colour, his trademark, _but sweetheart; I can't stand this scumbag for long. He's driving me crazy. _

_Just leave him, please? For Anne and my sake? _ I waited for him to change his mind, and for a moment in which I thought he didn't, but at last he shrugged and let go of the slightly frightened vampire. He turned his head and bowed slightly at the elders, never looking back at the guy who mocked him a few seconds ago, "I'm sorry, elder Aaron. I guess I got a bit carried away."

"I understand how you feel about your family, Horatio, but like your wife said, now's not the time to use violence. You still have Grey and Casey to think about. Like what I've instructed you to, maintain contact, we'll try to locate them as soon as possible."

"Your Highness, is it possible if we could work together with…," he gulped, not wanting to say because he knew the elders dislike Ryan's true nature, along with other rogue vampires, "…werewolves?"

The whole room broke out into gasps and strong discussions all around. Elder Aaron raised his hand, signaling for all of it to stop again, before looking at the both of us, "Werewolves? Since when did you become best friends with them? No, that I can't tolerate."

"But listen, my highness, apparently, a friend of mine…," I'm pretty sure Horatio didn't want to use the term 'daughter's best friend', "… have friends who happen to be the best trackers in the country. They could help you find the location where Anne is at, just by the scent itself. From there, you can take over and finish Grey off, just like you wished."

The leader slammed his fist unto the table, prompting shocks from everyone in the room, least of all the foxy Rick, who stood there just looking at the scene with glee, "You do like to get away with things not related within the book, is it Horatio? I'll tell you what: I didn't want to be part of the operation if you decide to take in those mutts, but for Anne, I will. You mark my words, Horatio. This will be the last time you disobey our laws, do you get what I'm saying?"

"I will, and I heard it loud and clear, your highness," he bowed, prodding me on the waist, and I bowed slightly, following his instructions, before his booming voice echoed the walls, "Now off you go. Don't bother wasting our time any longer. We have a family of vampires to catch and our dear little comrade to save."

I completely let out a big sigh after walking through the doors. I felt simply relieved after being tensed in that room for about half an hour. We turned around to see the now annoyed Rick glaring us for a moment with a feeling of angst, before turning left into a different direction.

As we were heading out back to our car, Yelina came right in front of us and embraced me, "Mari, are you okay? You seemed to be in a pretty bad shape."

I returned the embrace, glad that someone, other than my family, would actually care, "Yelina! I'm just so glad you're here," we broke off the embrace, before I could find some confidence to tell her, "Nah, I'm just so messed up. I can't believe I let someone take my daughter away. I'm such a bad mother."

Horatio was standing stiff beside me, ready to comfort me in any minute, but I only shook my head, amused as the way he is being overprotective towards his family, "I'm all right. Thanks for your concern, Horatio," and looking back at Yelina, "I hope you can find her. I heard she's not the only one missing. Apparently, so does her club members."

Yelina took in a deep breath, even more shocked than before. She looked at Horatio, glaring at him as per usual, "Horatio, this is getting serious! You know Grey, and you know he's not going to stop torturing the children. Someone will die if we don't hurry."

"I know, and Casey is teaming up with him as well. Who knows what they would do to them," Horatio took out his sunglasses and toyed with it, before putting it on, "But I'm going to catch him before he starts."

"Remember," Yelina's words echoed in our heads as she hurried back into the room, _the clock is ticking._


	18. Chapter 17

_**A/N: **_**Can't believe I have to redo the A/N again. -.- Anyways, watched another film about two brothers in an adventure. Still traumatized over _Kirikou_, even though it's a good movie. Here's another chapter for you guys to read. So enjoy! **

**I'm sorry if it's too long. -.- I can't write _literally_ short stories**.

**_DISCLAIMER:_ I don't own CSI:Miami, Coldplay and the characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan's story (check her out by the way, she's awesome.), so please don't sue me. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17:<strong>

Ryan's POV:

I stood in the bathroom, straightening out my tie while looking at my reflection on the mirror. I'm not really sure as to whether I could do this, to be able to pull off this stunt with ease, but I knew I have to, because this is for Anastasia, my best friend and my future beta. I can't afford to lose her to that piece of trash.

Dad's voice rung inside my head, just the three most important sentences when we were having a conversation on the phone about gathering all the werewolves for an urgent meeting; _I know you can do it son. It's your destiny to lead and to protect the innocent. Your destiny to become the alpha of the pack. _

My hands went from the tie to picking up the cologne on the bathroom cabinet, spraying some on me so that I may be able to give a good first impression to my "siblings", that's what we always call our other friends. My head wrapped around the thought "_lead and protect_". It looks impossible but could be made possible if I give it a shot.

I took one last look on my hair and attire against the mirror on the wall, before going out of the room to collect my belongings, when I saw two wolves on the bed. One was large, bigger than my size, and it's skin was ash grey. It has really pointy ears and it's face is long. That meant more teeth along the jaw line. Next to him, I guessed it is a she because of the figure, is a smaller, but sleek figure of a female wolf. She is of oak brown colour, and it's fur is more smooth compared to her companion.

I rolled my eyes when realization hit me: my parents.

"Mum, Dad, what on earth are you both doing here?"

The grey wolf stood up gracefully, after taking a small nap on my now messed up bed, _We're here for the trial, Ryan. Do you really think you can do it by yourself? You need the assistance, but yet again, you're in charge of this whole operation. _

_He's right sweetheart, _mother's body was still against the bed, but her tail swooped up and was swaying back and forth, _We're just here in case you need help. _

I sighed, sitting down on the bed, legs dangling on the floor but the upper half of my body turned to meet them, and bending my head slightly forward, in a downward direction, one of the ways I respected them for being my parents, "I'm sorry for being mean to you guys. Now I know how it feels like being under a curse, having to gain more responsibilities even though we don't want to."

My father edged closer, looking at me eye-to-eye with the seriousness written all over it, before rubbing his nose against my chest as a way of forgiving me, and gently nibbling my ear, _Son, don't be mad at this curse. Take a different outlook to it. You'll be able to see it as a blessing. _

"I don't know father, it's just that," I broke off the sentence, looking for the right adjectives to suit the right feeling, "Now, I don't really see it as a blessing yet. Anger management issues, transforming into this wolf every now and then. It's just crazy!" in one swift motion, my hands were on my face, never bothered to look at my father's eyes for a longer period of time.

_I know, my sweetheart, _the brown wolf gently stood up on all fours, before tugging my hands away from my face with her paws, _We don't want this to happen to us either. But I guess we have to do the same things that humans do; move on. _

Finally giving in to her words, I let my hands rest against the sides of my body. My eyes certainly crossed and I thought I felt folds on my forehead as I began to concentrate my thoughts, _Don't think about it too much, Ryan, _my mother gently nudged me in my shoulders with her nose, giving out a 'snuff' along the way, _Always take one step at a time. _

"One step at a time," I mumbled to myself, repeating the last words and committing it to memory, one that I would keep for a very long time. I turned back to my parents, circling my arms around the soft, furred bodies and kissing them both near the jaw line, "Thanks, mum, dad. Look at the time, we have to go now. Meeting's going to commence shortly."

_We'll always be with you, son, _father reminded me yet again as the three of us walked out of the door and into the living room. It's time we take action, and hopefully get rid of this maniac for good.

Anastasia's POV:

I didn't know how I could have been carried to another place or how long I have been unconscious, but an unfamiliar odor certainly brought me back to planet Earth. It's strangely pungent, but very addictive. I tried to move my arms and legs, examining myself whether I could have been tortured along the way, and that's when I realized both of them have been bound together by rope. _Now where have I experienced this before?_

In short, I am helpless. And there's nothing I could do about it.

I looked around the scenery set before my eyes: the surfaces of the area seemed to be full of rocks, like I was in some unknown cave. It was dark, but thankfully not pitched black due to the lit torches placed on the walls around the cave. It was as if I jumped in the time machine and went back to the caveman days, where everything is so simple and technologies have ceased to exist.

My ears captured some moans from around me, as if someone is hurt, and looked down in front of me. To my horror, I saw that all of my club members were there, coming about and struggling to get up. How did they end up here? Surely they weren't kidnapped the same way I was.

Somehow, my gut felt like some bad aura was coming towards me, and not wanting to cause the lightning to strike twice, I turned around to look back the same way I came about, taking in my instincts. It was two figures in blood red cloaks, and like a horror movie, they seem very creepy. A male voice echoed the room, probably from one of the figures, "If it isn't our dear Anne. Welcome to our lair. We've been expecting you for a very long time."

I can't quite make out the sound, but it felt all the more familiar to me. Together with Casey's appearance, my brain finally picked the right information and it seems as if it shot straight to the projectile room: they were there when I was five years old, in the swimming pool incident:

_People said that it was an accident for a girl like me to be pushed down into the adult swimming pool without any floats on, almost drowning myself. They were wrong. _

_I was dipping my feet in the swimming pool, watching my big brother Kyle do his swimming lessons with his friends every weekend. I've wanted to take swimming very, very bad, but you know my mother, never taking risks for her daughter in case something bad happens to her. _

_Kyle's signals by waving his arms, crossing each other and bringing them apart, caught my attention, "Annie! Would you mind getting my goggles? I've seen to have forgotten to bring them. They are on the chairs, inside my bag."_

"_Sure big brother!" I yelled back, with an innocent smile smacked on my face, as I stood up, turning around to head back onto our seat, picking up the necessary item along the way. However, a pair of arms grabbed mine and in one swift move, threw me into the water, crashing into it. I could still remember their faces: Casey and Grey. Father had told me of them, showing me the pictures so that I know when to stay away from them. _

_I didn't really have the experience, but some kicks helped me get up to the surface, at least enough to catch my breath. I tried gasping for air, but could only swallow massive amounts of water. I continued struggling my way up, but I knew it was no use. I've regretted being on the edge of the pool at the wrong time. _

_I could hear Kyle's screams, loud and clear, calling for me, and the splashing of the water as he and his friends tried swimming their way over me, but I heard another sound of a splash as if someone plunged into the water, and a pair of arms grabbed hold of my body, wrapping around my figure, bringing me up onto the surface and letting me breathe again. I turned to look at my angel, and felt grateful that it was my uncle. I know that I wouldn't drown with him around, more so because he's a police diver. _

"_Anne, are you all right, sweetheart? Talk to me," he cradled me with one arm, with the help of the water, while the other caressed my cheeks, "I'm fine, Uncle Eric. It was just an accident."_

_He became silent for a moment as I continued gazing into his dark brown eyes, not being able to tear away from the gaze, but nodded after awhile. I knew something was up, "All right then. I'll take you to the hospital to get you checked up, hopefully remove some of the water that entered your lungs." He passed me over to my concerned father on the edge of the pool, whose hands were carrying in a towel, waiting for me, as he jumped up, raising his arms in a push up position and getting out of the pool._

_Kyle was standing behind his father, blaming himself for being inattentive, slapping himself on the cheeks for not being able to save me, but mother shushed him, restraining him from continuing any further, "No, Kyle. You're a good brother. Don't ever think that way." _

_Kyle wanted to argue back, but father stopped him, "Kyle, this is not your fault. It's an accident. No one saw it coming," he pulled me closer to him as he wrapped the towel around my body, finding some warmth and comfort, "Just an accident."_

As if by magic, my brain brought me back into the present, just as the two figures revealed themselves by putting the hoods over their backs, revealing their faces. They sure are a bit of a show off, letting other people know who they are before they are killed.

I remembered the both of them as if they had been in my life all along or maybe because the trauma has caused a great effect on me.

The figure standing on the left was a tall, well-built man with a short and curly, bold black hair. His eyes are symmetrical, his nose was beautifully sharp and his lips were tight and blood red. It was as if he is a perfect creature, an older, far more better version of Maxwell, but what ruined his face was the scar on his left cheek, which seems to be the only thing off the beauty list. I remembered father telling me that he was the one who caused it, making a slit on his face when saving my mother.

Next to him, to my dismay, is his wife, the one whom abducted me from school, Casey, except that she looked taller this time, maybe because of the high heels she was wearing. And her face just got creeper because of the darker surroundings and the fact that she is wearing a black cloak.

The other members of the club were in gasps, fear levels rising against their powers, except for me. I've seen and felt too much of this and it sort of became a habit to me, "What do you guys want from me again? Isn't pushing me into the pool ten years ago good enough for you? Well, guess what, I've started taking swimming lessons for now and I'm ready for another push, if you would like."

The both of them let out some laughs, while the club members looked at me, "Anne, you know them?"

"Unfortunately, I do, yes. They sicken me. All they can do is ruining my family's life, if that's the only thing they live for," I yelled at them, hoping that my friends and they themselves would hear it. To my delight they did, because the next moment I was pushed against the wall, hands and feet still tied behind my back, with Grey grasping hold of my neck, making it very hard to breathe, "Don't you dare talk to me like that. You do have a lot of cheek, you know that?"

I never hold back, and fought on like what my father taught us to do from a very young age. I glared at him with intense seriousness in my eyes, "Yeah, I do have lots of cheek cells, you can have some if you like. Besides, I know Dad just can't wait to get in here and kick your filthy bottom."

"Oh, he wants to, does he? Well, not anymore, young Anne," he slapped my cheeks, sending my face to one direction, "By the time he arrives, he'll be too late. The humans themselves have no choice but to take him into prosecution."

All of us knew what he meant, with some of the club members cringing to the sound of it, having silent prayers all to themselves, but I only duck my head lower and let out a silent plea, _Please father, save us all. I know you have the power to, and you can. _

Instead, I've only heard an evil laugh coming from Grey, "Try as you might, Anne. He can't hear you."

Ryan's POV:

I looked back at my watch and it read eight in the evening, right on the dot. They should be here by now.

And sure enough, people came round the trees, people whom I knew and grew up with. I was their follower, but now I was about to become their leader. I noticed an old friend of mine as they began to take their places in the meeting. He looked a little bit buffer and taller since his first transformation and has grown to become more tan, but nevertheless he is my best friend. His dirty-blonde hair, greenish-blue eyes and wide smile gave proof to that, "Tim!"

"Hey Ryan, what's with the urgent meeting? It sounds very serious," he eyed me for a second, with a question mark hovering about his head, "And since when are you being neat and all that? Wearing a suit with a tie in it?"

"It's all about making good first impressions buddy," the two of us met and we knock shoulders into each other as a sign of brotherhood. Man, he is far stronger than I am. I'm actually scared that my shoulder would get dislocated for the first time.

"Relax, brother. We are all siblings here, there's no need to play dress up," Tim guffawed at my clothes. I only blushed and prodded his shoulder.

With everyone gathered, some sitting while the others stand around, I made my way into the middle of the circle, "Good evening sisters and brothers. Thank you all for taking your time and coming here today."

One of the wiser, older and more authoritative members of the pack stood up and raised at the top of his voice, a true example of an alpha, "Your welcome, little brother. Now what can we do to help?"

"Well," I glanced at my parents for awhile, earning a little encouragement from the both of them, before letting my problem out. I do tend to have doubts on whether they would like to help me, since it's my case. But then again, we're siblings. What kind of siblings wouldn't help each other?

"My friend had been kidnapped, along with her schoolmates. Apparently, the one who kidnapped them is a vampire, and they are planning on taking revenge."

The woods were silent, except for the creaking from the bugs and the fluttering of the birds. However, inside in our thoughts, reactions were shooting from every direction: _WHAT?_

The alpha continued questioning me, "Who is this friend to you, to us? I just don't understand why rogue leeches would suddenly want to grab hold of a few humans and actually do nothing to them," I sometimes love how they like to call vampires names, just like in school.

"That's the problem, big brother," I shrugged, looking at the ants beneath me walking back and forth from their nests, "She's Horatio Caine's daughter. She's innocent and she has nothing to do with her father's problems…"

Tim crossed his arms, smirking like he knew that there was something more to that. Best friends should know each other inside and out, "… and the fact that I love her so much, I couldn't possibly let her die."

"Horatio's daughter? She's only a dhampire! Have you actually 'imprinted' on her yet, little one?"

"Not yet," I shook my head, walking back a few steps while placing my hands on my head, rubbing it back and forth, "I've wanted to, but I didn't have the courage to tell her that I love her, and now that she's kidnapped, I don't know what t—".

Mother was instantly behind my back, soothing my shoulders and massaging them, comforting me with her words, "It's not your fault, honey. No one saw that coming."

Tim shook his head, smiling towards himself, asking why I am always like this, before taking a step forward, resulting in heads turning towards his direction, "Your mother's right, it's not your fault, Ry. For you, your future wife, and the humans, I'm in."

The elder raised his hand as a sign of oath, telling everyone of the agreement, "All right then. For our dear brother and our best friend Horatio, I'm joining in and I will promise to help them until I face death. If any of you did not plan on taking part, you are free to leave now."

There was silence in the woods again, but no one moved out of their seats. In fact, all of them wanted to be part of the action! My heart skipped a beat as I saw a glint of hope: My wish is going to come true after all with the help of my big family. With the elder nodding his head at the crowd and to the four of us, Tim looked at me, with a broad grin on his face, "So, best friend, how's the plan going to be?"


	19. Chapter 18

_**A/N: **_**F****inished editing all of the chapters in my novel, so you can pretty much make out when the story is going to end. :( Sad. Gonna go get some _Starbucks _after this. :) It's the 22nd of December, which means, "Half-Price-for-Tumbler-Day!" **

**_DISCLAIMER: _I don't own the United States of America, or even the world. So why would I own the three most awesome Character/Lyrics? (CSI:Miami/YUMGirlMoltMan/Coldplay)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18:<strong>

Eric's POV:

With Anne still in our minds, we worked hard, hand in hand, trying to ever locate her. The werewolves sent the best trackers that they could find and each of them were given something in Anastasia's possession, something they could smell into and hopefully recover her tracks, just like the dogs in the police force, except for the fact that they can talk as well as the sending and receiving of thoughts.

Frank and Alexx, along with our close human companions, all chipped in to help with the kidnapping case. By day, we were doing the tasks apprehended to us, finding out the culprits for each of the cases, but by night, we were busy investigating the kidnapping case, still following the clues Grey left for us. Neither of us actually complained or backed down. We didn't even bother to, for Anne's and the club members' sake.

The elder of the vampire council, Aaron, the alpha of the wolf pack, which we now know by the name of Joseph, and Horatio have met together and discussed tactics. Aaron and Joseph both agreed that when Grey is caught, he should be prosecuted by the humans, that way the treaty would not be broken.

I was busy processing the broken test-tube from the lab where Anne has previously been to before she disappeared, finding some kind of substance that could be sent to trace or even anything, when Calleigh walked into the lab, "Hey, Eric. You've got anything for the test-tube?"

"Not at the moment, I'm afraid," I sighed placing both of my hands at the edge of the table and slouching forward, listening to the computers searching for the chemical components inside the test tube, "I just want to Anne to come back to us, to be able to hug her again. I don't know what Grey might be doing to her and the others, but I just don't want them to get hurt."

I felt Calleigh's hands soothing my aching back, releasing me of the packed energy and power within my body. The heat from her hands calmed me down greatly, and her scent does make my mouth water, but I brushed that thought away. Wouldn't want the council or the wolf pack to find out, or this is over, "I know how you feel, Eric. But we'll find them, and hopefully get rid of Grey for good this time."

"I hope we would," her high hopes certainly puts a smile on my face, as I let out a sniffle of laughter, "By the way, how's your processing?"

"Well, since there aren't any guns used in the kidnapping, I guess I'm not really usable," she did her famous Duquesne smile, "but I did find a piece of paper left on the floor. It is the clue that led Anne there in the first place. So I set the paper for testing, to see its handwriting and the quality of the paper."

"We already know that Maxwell Akrisons is the reason behind all this," I swerved myself around and kissed her forehead gently, "So why do you still need to process the paper before?"

I heard a note of sarcasm in her sigh, as she pouted and pulled me out of trace, probably leading to graphology, "Lazy Eric. I knew you were going to say that."

I stuck out my tongue at her, being the playful Delko as always, "Just stating the facts, my dear Calleigh."

Entering through the doors, Walter Simmons was already standing there with a notebook in his hand, busy taking down notes. He was one of the junior CSIs and he was one of those who volunteered to help, even though he knew about the dire consequences, "Hey there, CSI Delko and CSI Duquesne."

"Please, just call me Eric and call her Calleigh," I rose my hand up and smiled at him to get rid of the tension. It did work, because he made his way to the projector, placing the note onto the screen, while the both of us stood by the table, one on each side, "So, you know that this is the paper that Anne used to get there, right?"

The both of us nodded, "So, I compared the handwriting on the paper to that of Maxwell's schoolwork, and," the slide changes to a comparison one, "it's not a match."

"Well, it could be one of his parent's, or even his sister. The chances could be infinity," I shook my head, "It's highly impossible that we wouldn't be able to find her through this paper."

"Not quite. I haven't gone on to the paper yet. You see," he clicked the button on the mouse and the slide changes onto the paper, but up close in a microscope view; "The quality of the paper is not common, as it is not made in factories. See the watermark?" changing to a slide pertaining the paper in UV light, "it says 'Mark Brothers, Pte. Ltd.'"

"I think we may have a lead here. I'll call H. This is definitely good news," I took out my phone and punched the speed dial, while heading out of the room, "Thanks Walter," before stopping beside my bride and kissing her gently on her cheeks, "Thank you too, my lovely."

"You're welcome, Eric," she gave me a tight hug before I left the room. Closing the glass doors behind me, I heard Horatio picking up the phone, _"This is Horatio Caine."_

"H, it seems we may have the lead. 'Mark Brothers, Pte. Ltd.'"

"_All right, I'm on my way. The werewolves have apparently found their hideout and are waiting for the signal and the game plan to commence."_

Whoa. Note to self: Never underestimate any kind of animals, "How do they get to find it so fast?"

I heard a chuckle at the end of the line, _"What can I say, Delko? They got themselves the best trackers in the country. Now we need to find the right amount of evidence so that Grey could be found guilty. So, Mark Brothers isn't it?"_

"Yeah."

"_All right then, I'll see you there,"_ and with that, the connection was lost.

Ryan's POV:

My legs felt like they are in chains, dragging me away from the lab and back home. I didn't say I'm tired or anything and I did want to help and find out whatever is going on in case something new pops up. However, everyone kept saying that I needed some of the rest, saving the energy for the battle later on. After a few persuasions, I finally gave in to their demands and went home straight to take the nap.

After opening the main doors and placing the keys to its original place, I went straight into the kitchen, with Rojo, my favorite pit-bull friend, close behind my legs, wagging its tail anxiously and whining uncontrollably. Poor thing, food must have been the only thing on his head all day, "Sorry there, buddy. I shouldn't hurt you, but it's just that I've kept on thinking about Anastasia a lot more than before."

The dog cocked its head, letting out a high-pitched whine, before barking in a curious tone. I smiled as I patted him gently on the head, pouring some of the dog food unto his bowl, "Anastasia is the sweetest girl you could have met in the whole world. She's someone whom you are not afraid to show who you really are, and she does have the same humor as me, so…"

I must have been daydreaming about her again, because Rojo began nibbling my hand gently, bringing me out of it. Looking down at the bowl, I was astonished, and angry at myself, for giving him little too much, "Whoops, my bad. Besides, you may need the extra amount. You must be really hungry."

I watched Rojo for awhile, making sure he is able to take in all of the food laid out to him and hopefully finish it, before walking towards my bedroom. It was my usual place of heaven, but now it seems like a place without any feelings at all. I shrugged to myself, heaving out a long sigh, as I threw the bags onto the sofa allocated beside the bed and stripped off my clothes, stepping into the bathroom, tossing it into the hamper along the way.

I turned on the shower, feeling it for the right temperature before stepping in to it. Somehow, the water washes over me, cleansing me not only the physical demands this life could ever offer, but also spiritually as well. It washes away the horrors I've seen from my job, from what the killers actually do to their victims, right until their final breaths. And it definitely relives me of the thoughts that came back and forth about Anne, without it going away all together.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the heat and the soothing spray of the water as it ran over my head and bare shoulders. Deep down inside, Anne was the only thing I could only think of. I imagined her wrapping her white, thin but strong arms around my body, the first time that happened when we were in the lab. I smiled to myself, imagine feeling her warmth near me, but opened my eyes and realized it was only a dream. It's been only three days, but it felt like three agonizing years has gone by.

After the refreshing shower, I went towards my bed, wearing nothing but a pair of sweat pants and a singlet. Pulling the blankets over me, I decided to get this done and over with, to be ready for when the time comes. I didn't feel like I was in a dream, but everything I am seeing or feeling felt so real:

_I felt like I was in a cave, with nothing but torches lit with fires to provide light and warmth into the scene. This isn't the kind of place that I would usually go, and for once, I am actually terrified of it. My ears twitched as I noticed the sounds of some moans, and I decided to follow it, coming from around the corner. _

_My eyes widened and jaw dropped as I realized where the sound came from. It came from the club members, they were locked inside due to the gates and there was blood everywhere. As I focused my eye at the far end, I growled as I recognized two figures standing around Anne. Grey and Casey Akrisons. _

"_You're never getting away with this, Grey!" never backing down, Anne yelled at him, before I heard a sound of her spitting upwards. This would only make him angry, "Did you _not _see what I have done to your fellow schoolmates? I could have done that to you myself."_

"_You think you can scare me with your actions? Coward!" Anne snarled at him, before an ear piercing scream sprang out from all corners of the cave. I ran towards the three of them in lightening speed, trying to push Grey as far as possible from Anastasia when I saw the pool of blood accumulating around them. Instead, my hand only passed through his body, as if I was a ghost within their presence, unable to do nothing but watch as the scene unfolds. _

_I looked at my hands, looking at them palm side up and palm side down, furious at myself for not being able to help my precious other half of my life. Without any warning, Grey went through me and smirked at Anne, "Happy now?"_

_Anne grunted, but she balked at him, "I'm not backing off because of you. Come on, do it again!" _

_Her sentence made me turn around immediately in her direction, and I kneeled against her, appalled at the injury that Anne has sustained on her right knee, with blood streaming out slowly. I can't imagine the intense pain that is causing her, "Anne, listen to me. Now's not a good time to fight back. You're hurt, and he may kill you."_

_The girl's eyes widened as a hand went through me and stabbed her in the abdomen. Anne's eyes clouded for a moment right in front of my eyes, before she slung back against the floor, lifeless, "No, this can be happening! Anne, don't leave me!" _

"_It's all over, Horatio. All over," and with that a gust of wind and a hand pulled me away from the cave, into a never ending oblivion. _

Marisol's POV:

My shoulders raised up a little bit, feeling very tense, before slouching down again, heaving out a little sigh as I did so. On my hands, a cup of warmed blood was very much tempting, but as of this moment, I thought I didn't have the stomach to. Jesse has been eyeing me for twenty-four-seven now, and she always flinched or would ask me immediately if I felt "out of this world." The truth is, all I wanted right now is to know that my daughter is safe, nothing else, and to be able to have her in my arms.

I would even sell my soul for it, if it's the last thing I have to do.

_Don't think like that Mari, _Jesse's hands were strangely friendly and calming against my shoulders, getting rid of my frustrations, being sympathetic like a best friend should be. She sure does help me get through my emotional pain, and I'm grateful for her. My eyes leaked out a tear as I rubbed it away, causing a red smudge on my cheek, "Thanks, Jesse, but I'm fine."

"Look, whatever the case might be," she smiled, hoping that it would get rid most of my problems, "We've got everything we need and now we just need to get in there and bring Anne out, safe and sound. You can count on them to do it."

"I believe them, Jesse," I raised my hands and took a sip from the mug, before replacing it towards it's natural position, "but…"

"No buts, Mari. Remember: positivity," she bent her index finger sideways, something that she loves doing, "She will get through all of this and it is going to work out. That's what Caines are built for, aren't they?"

Our calm and peaceful silence was broken when a screeching yelp rang through our ears; Ryan Wolfe was in serious danger. Placing the mug down, the two of us sprang out of our seats and ran towards the door, head on. Neither of us was oblivious to the danger that might jump at us, as an element of surprise.

Instead, Ryan was sitting up straight, hands wrapped around his knees, head and body full of sweat, and he was definitely crying. This is the first time I've actually seen another man cry, well, other than my younger brother when he thought I was dead. Jesse sat next to him, cupping his chin gently in her hands, and bringing his face closer to hers, "What's wrong, Ryan? Tell me."

He was shivering, as if he had suffered a great deal of trauma, "I… dre—aamt… of… Anne… las…t…night…", Jesse moved in closer so that Ryan could curl himself nearer to her, like what a young kitten would always do, "I was in a cave… and… Grey killed Anne… there… Oh, please don't let it happen. Please."

Jesse wrapped her skinny arms around his massively animalistic figure, gently hushing him in a motherly tone, "It won't happen, sweetheart. Anastasia is strong, she'll be fine."

Ryan pushed his mother's hand away, before using his to cover his long, sharp, oval shaped face, "That's the problem! You guys kept on telling me that she's fine, but everything seemed to look the other way around. What if she doesn't, mother? How am I going to face the rest of my life knowing that my future wife is in a fifty-fifty chance of survival?"

I leaned back against the door, not sure of what to say. The only thing that ran through my mind was what Ryan has told us, fearing if it actually came true.

_Hang in there, my beloved Annie. Everyone you love is coming for you. _


	20. Chapter 19

**_A/N: _Climbing up into the climax. OH YEAH. x) Let's just get this done and over with. **

**_DISCLAIMER: _Whey man! I don't own 'em. So don't sue meh! :D (CSI:Miami, Coldplay and characters from YUMGirlAndMoltMan.)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19:<strong>

Anastasia's POV:

After the "grand" introduction, Maxwell and Britney came into the room, wearing nothing except the same cloaks as their parents. Their faces were colorless, without emotions. There was nothing but the feeling of hearts being shattered as the club members realized they have been stabbed in the back by their leader and their best friend.

All of us were forced to stand, with the knots still tied to our hands behind our backs, as they untie the knots on our feet before leading us towards what looked like dungeons. I thought I was in some fairytale movie, being a princess stuck in a cage that the dragon puts the princess in, waiting for the prince to arrive, except the fact that there aren't any animals I could talk to, and the evil dragons that handsome princes must slay happens to talk and hypnotize you. As we were shoved into the cage, I took one last glimpse on the siblings before voicing out my opinion, "Why are you doing this to us? I thought you are one of the good guys."

"I'm sorry, Anastasia. You're the one who caused all of this to happen in the first place. You're the reason why our family isn't the same, kind and loving as it used to be. They only thought of you!" Maxwell snarled, spitting some of his saliva on my face as he pressed his head against the metal rods.

"Thank you, for showing your true colours at all of us. At least now we know that there's a traitor in our midst, and Dad's probably going to charge you as an adult and hopefully bring you to prison. There are a lot of eye-witnesses here to help me in court. That's when you'll truly meet him, like you've always wanted," I eyeballed him for a second, trying to make him change his mind, but he only looked away, moving his fingers across the metal bars, creating a rhythmic tune, "Sure, I can't wait to meet him Anne."

And with that, he left with a few strides, earning a speechless crowd inside the box, "So what do we do, Anne? You're the one in charge of us now, that _he's _gone."

I leaned against the concrete wall, before slithering down slowly to sit in between two senior members of the club, "I don't know, you guys. I'm not really smart as you, and I'm definitely not good at making decisions."

"We know what you did back at your old school. We've seen your pass school reports. Besides, you're the daughter of the best detective on the planet. Surely, you have some way of helping us all," one of the seniors descanted, acquiring signs of approval from the other members as they anxiously nod their heads, waiting for my response.

I looked at the two men who were sitting beside me, before ducking my head, thinking that I feel very odd, "Ugh, I'm afraid there's nothing much we could do right now, but just to sit back and pray that they would find us and come to our rescue, on time. Have faith in my father and the team, all right?"

After a murmurs of 'Yeah's, all of us leaned back against the wall, some of us trying to sleep, hopefully getting their minds off of it, while others are in silent prayers. Me? I just closed my eyes and tried sending out my thoughts to my father, or even anyone in the family. I've never tried it before in a long range, but it's better to fail than to never try before, right?

_Dad, it's me, Anne. Please respond, I need to know you're there._

For once, I felt something. It's a message in a form of a reply, _Sweetheart? Are you all right? I've been searching all over for you!_

_What's going on dad? It's getting creepy out here._

There was a moment of awkward silence, which I thought was from us losing the connection, but father replied briefly, _you know my old nemesis, Anne. He's going to take revenge for what I have done to my previous wife and for almost killing him while saving your mother. You should know that. _

_Of course I know that Dad, but what are you planning? When are you coming here to save us all?_

Before he could respond, a sound of a metal clanking woke us up, even though some of us might not be sleeping at all, "Anastasia Caine, don't you dare think you can actually do that! We know what you are up to!"

Not wanting to hurt any of my schoolmates, I kept silent, making sure I did not make a fool of myself. I didn't want this chance to slip away, of my father actually saving us like a superhero, along with his team,

And my best friend, Ryan.

My brain wondered back towards the days we spent together as best friends, hanging out in the lab on broad daylight because father and Uncle Eric didn't like the idea of us going out together at nights. The hugging, the laughter, the sharing of secrets…

My mind, body and soul screamed for him, like I yearned to be near him again. I didn't even have the guts to tell him how I feel, and that's because of the pressure I'm getting from school, the Crime Lab as well as my own family. I don't know about Ryan, but I can't wait to run towards him and jump into his open and loving arms again. My head moved abruptly from side to side, trying so hard not to think about it now. I don't want to see him get hurt or upset because of me.

Being bored with myself, wishing that the time will go by so quickly, I decided to take a good look on my schoolmates for the first time. Most of them are male, which is no surprise judging from the number of men in the Crime Lab. The girls themselves didn't look nerdy at all. As if unknown to strangers, they could think the girls are in cheerleading or some other sport. There's no way they could believe if the girls told them that they are from the Detective Club.

I must have forgotten someone because I have been running the numbers for more than once now, counting heads and making sure I didn't miss anything. I blinked my eyes for mere seconds; this _can't _be right, "Um guys…"

Eyelids popped open, as some of the seniors looked at me, knowing that I must be sensing something suspicious since I rarely ask them anything, "What is it, Anne?"

"Where's William?"

At the sound of his name, everyone squirmed to look around at each other, hoping that they could find William among the group, hidden somewhere so that I couldn't see him, and therefore counted him up. Gasps were heard when they didn't manage to find William in the group, leading to the female members going frantic.

"Guys, calm down. I know there's a suitable explanation for all of this," heads began turning towards my direction as the girls cooled down, listening to my accusation.

"All I know is, he's not in this cage, but he's around here somewhere. He's not going to be killed, trust me."

"Did you not see the man and woman in cloaks? They said they are vampires!" one of the seniors roared back at me, face red with the intense amount of anger.

I rolled my eyes at the thought, "And do you believe them?"

The crowd was speechless. No one uttered a single word, "What they say doesn't mean they really are. They might torture Will, yes. But I believe he's not going to die. Stay positive you guys. This is for the club, and for William."

They nodded, proud about what I've said, and for the next few moments we've started discussing on ideas that could help us get out of the lair, but I only shook my head at each one, mouthing the words "Too dangerous" or "Too risky." I know that deep down inside, it is virtually impossible to be able to escape from the lair, but I tried to keep their spirits up. I don't want them to keep thinking about when they would die in their hands. I even believed that we would wake up to see another day, being able to move on in life.

_Please come father, _I let out a silent plea, deep down inside within my heart, with the last burst of energy I had in my body, before I blacked out for the night.

"_**It was the wicked and wild wind,  
><strong>__**Blew down the doors to let me in,  
><strong>__**Shattered windows and the sounds of drums,  
><strong>__**People couldn't believe what I'd become,**_

"_**Revolutionaries wait,  
><strong>__**For my head on a silver plate,  
><strong>__**Just a puppet on a lonely string,  
><strong>__**Oh who would ever want to be king?"**_

Horatio's POV:

The time has come, time for us to rescue my daughter and take Grey down, this time for good. I don't really bother about his family, about what they would react to his death afterwards, because he's my main and only priority. He had been given a second chance, but he chose to take down the offer. And now he is going to pay dearly for what he had done, to my family as well as the community.

It was a busy night, with the hustle and bustle of policemen and paramedics chit chatting with each other over cups of coffee, while the team gets ready the special equipment that one of the elders has made especially for them: Some bullets suited for their guns made out of oak, and a stake. Not that it is supposed to be any more high tech, but that's all they need for now. The vampires were sitting around, sipping bottles of blood, trying to control their hunger and power, all together lost in thoughts, while the werewolves are busy stretching, getting ready for the work out. Looking at them both from a distance, you could very much see the difference.

Marisol, Jesse and Don were busy having an adult conversation inside the break room, while Uncle Eric and Calleigh were cuddling close to each other, ensuring each other that both of them would survive the ordeal, whatever it takes. Ryan kept on walking back and forth, head bent down, probably thinking of his favorite thing in the world. He kept on looking impatient, face scrunched up, wondering when the briefing might be over, so that he can come towards the man whom started all of this and put his claws inside his body, ripping him from the inside out.

Everyone gathered around the long table inside our meeting room as the leader of the elders, Aaron, laid out the map sheet of the Akrisons' household on it, spreading it out smoothly against the glass, "Now listen carefully, everyone. This man may not be armed, but he certainly is dangerous, dangerous beyond what a normal human like you could reach. And he also has his family with him, so whatever you do, always be in threes and have the stake with you ready at all times."

He began the briefing, expatiating in exquisite detail about all the rooms within the house, where Anastasia and the other club members were being held captive at, and also the traps that may encounter our way, based on his and my memories. He then began dividing the crowd up into smaller groups, telling them specifically what they should do, "I don't want anyone else to be doing anything other than what they were assigned for. I don't want any mess ups and we certainly do not want a serial killer on the loose again, is that understood?"

All of them didn't know what to address him as, so they called him 'sir' instead. He shot a glance at me, and nodded in one swift move, "It's your call, Horatio. Don't screw this one up."

"I will, your highness," I bowed, lowering my body slightly, before taking his place against the crowd, "Remember this everyone, it's not just my daughter who's in there. There are also a few teenagers in that horrid place, and we want to get this done and over with as soon as possible. Now, let's roll!"

As the crowd dispersed, everyone pushing their seats back in and running towards their vehicles. I thought I noticed that someone was missing during the briefing. My eyes widened at the thought of the person he or she might be, and the fabric strewn across the floor:

Ryan Wolfe. I don't really mind him going first to the scene to be honest, but I don't want him to murder Grey and end up losing a bright and useful CSI. I don't want it to have a bad ending.

And what would Anastasia say when she is all well and that the incident is placed behind her? What am I going to tell her? That her soon-to-be-fiancé is in jail for the rest of his life? I can't tolerate that.

My legs carried me towards Marisol and the Wolfes, telling them the change of plans when I said I would be going with them, "Don, take the extra car that is parked in the basement. I need to go to the Akrisons' as soon as possible."

"Why H? What's the rush?" being as carefree as ever, the older Wolfe leaned his head against the headrest that the sofa has, "It's your son, Wolfe. He is going to kill Grey, and he can. I have to go there now before it is too late."

"WHAT?" he jolted up, unaware that his own son has slipped through the meeting, "All right then, you go. I'll send the ladies over later."

I smiled at him as I took a few steps back, turning around and running towards my Hummer, keys at hand. I hope I'm not too late.


	21. Chapter 20

_**A/N: **_**Very short climax, and I'm very sorry for that. :l I'll try to make a longer one on the next story. Oh wait, looking at the number of words. I'm so getting _ivre_. I'm scared for my results from my French test, which the teacher will be giving out tomorrow. Shucks. **

**_DISCLAIMER: _I wouldn't be down here writing this story in desperation if I took credit for CSI:Miami, Coldplay and YUMGirlAndMoltMan. I'll probably be somewhere in the UK. :) Meeting Richard Hammond.**

* * *

><p><strong>C<strong>**hapter 20:**

Ryan's POV:

I dug my heels under the soil as I slowed myself down from the fast paced gallops. I've finally reached the place. I looked around for any suspicious activity, letting my sharp sense of hearing roam through the woods, but there was nothing but peace and tranquility. Not for long.

I know Grey has an element of surprise, but I'm going to give mine to him first.

I sniffed through the air, letting my nose touch almost everything in sight as I walked along with Anastasia's beautiful lavender scent. To be able to smell it, lingering within my body, is a big sense of relieve for me. I left no stone unturned, as I stopped in front of a massive, antique block of wood. My inner, animalistic nature let out a soft growl as I noticed the blood stain smudged on the door handle. I just hope it's not Anne's, if not…

I shook my head, getting rid of the thought immediately, _no Wolfe. You're supposed to hurt him, not _kill _him. _

There were a lot of conflicts between my brain and my physical being, of what I am now and what my discipline thought me. It's in my nature that werewolves must protect their loved ones, even if it meant killing people to ensure for it, but I don't want to be placed in jail and losing all that effort searching for her in the first place, if I killed him. However, I'm just a young werewolf; this means I'll have trouble controlling my anger and my actions in the end.

For the first time, I was in a dilemma. Every time a few choices came up in my life, be it the choice of food or what to wear, I have become level headed and made it straight away. Usually it works out in the end, but for now, it's a fifty-fifty chance of failure. The question is: Which one does the least damage?

I heard the sound of the tires rolling against the roadside, as a police patrol car came to an abrupt stop around the curb, just a few meters away from the building. Not wanting to be found out and ruining the operation as a result, I quickly made my way back to the woods, using my hind legs as a jump start. A hand caught me as I jumped through a root that has grown above ground, and I was shoved against it, pinned and unable to move.

I wanted to roar as loudly as I could, to let the person fear for me and hopefully let me go, but a hand gripped my jaw and clenched it tight, rendering me helpless, "Mr. Wolfe. It's all right. It's me," my body calmed down upon hearing the familiar voice ringing through my ears.

_What's wrong, H?_ my natural instincts set in, as Horatio propped me up, brushing the extra dirt of my fur and my nose, "It's you, Mr. Wolfe. I was hoping that I would catch you in time before you attacked Grey and possibly ruin the other half of your life, but I guess I got lucky."

My tail played with itself, swishing from left to right behind me, as Horatio got up, swiping off the extra dirt of his jacket and his pants, making himself presentable when meeting his old nemesis in a moment, _What do you mean, lucky? _

"It means that," he took out the sunglasses from around his neck, making sure that it was spotless, without any dirt or scratches, before sliding it slowly towards his face, tucking it nicely behind his ears, "From my experience, werewolves that have just received new powers tend to use it until it is out of their control. Some of the men you see in the prison aren't really humans, and they had to be placed in a special cell."

My jaw clenched at the thought, _why didn't the public know of this?_

"Because it better for them not to know. We don't want the world to panic, and we certainly don't want murders that would reflect badly on us. It's just lucky that the humans helping us out have encountered with a supernatural creature in their lives," his footsteps thundered as it hits the muddy ground, him placing his hand on my forehead, stopping beside me. His hand was ice cold in between my ears, and the phrase 'giving a cold shoulder' suddenly comes to mind, making sense.

"Come on Ryan; let's do what we often do. And get out as quickly as possible, before destroying the building," he walked a few steps forward before twisting his body to look back at me, while I was busy licking my paws, biting it in hopes to make it sharper so that the wounds I will implant on Grey later on are deeper, "Coming, Wolfe?"

My jaw widened in a big smile as I trotted behind him, getting ready with the advance.

Little did I realize that everyone was already in position while we got ready in ours, waiting for the Lieutenant's signal. Our position has had the best view of the insides of the house through the windows, with us standing behind a bush, hiding in it in case Grey felt the need to look out of the window. My ears picked out the sound of someone screaming inside, the sound of someone very familiar. I tried not to look, but I couldn't help myself. She was _all _that I could think of, so.

And there she is, sitting down against the cold hard floor, hands bounded to a piece of rope behind her back, panting and looking really exhausted. Her back was bare, showing lots of small cuts and massive bruising, ruining its softness. Her hair looked like it went through a tornado which is spit out, and when her face turned around to glance at what's outside the window, her cheek revealed a darkened red scar across her cheek. It was probably caused by a whip that Grey was holding, as he walked back and forth, shouting all sorts of nonsense at her and spitting in her face. My body burned with rage, how could he do this to her?

_Does he even have a soul? _I let out a fearsome growl, not bothering whether I am showing my jaws, walking forward, hoping to get a clear view and read her thoughts, when I felt a hand on my body, "Not yet. Mr. Wolfe. I know how you feel. I want to do that to him as well. The time is near, and we will do it."

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie crackled into life, "Sir, the suspect is on the move. Awaiting your signal, over," I looked over at the orange-haired man, my soon to be father-in-law, who smiled as a sign of victory towards Grey's direction, "You ready, Mr. Wolfe?"

_I always am, H. Been waiting for this moment, _I panted with delight, sliding out my long tongue just like a dog getting his treat, leaning on a pair of leg, before switching to another, as he pressed his thumb against the button and moved it closer towards his mouth, "Let's go guys. Be careful."

I leapt out of my comfort position as soon as I heard the first slamming of the doors, "MDPD! Put your hands up where we could see it," I know the Akrisons wouldn't give up that easily, and sure enough, Casey was on top of a SWAT member, hissing loudly and baring her fangs at him, as I arrived in the living room, _hey! Let him go!_

"If it isn't little Wolfe. You're none of my business. Go away while I finish my job," licking her lips from side to side, leaving nothing but wet rims around her mouth, she bent closer towards the member's neck, edging in for the kill.

Her ego has definitely gone too far, _THAT'S IT. _

I leapt across from the door towards her, pouncing on her and pushing her away from the frightened human, who managed to relive himself as part of him being alive. I looked back at him for a moment, before focusing on my battle, _Coward, you can handle terrorists and drug dealers, but you can't handle a vampire. Great. _

"I guess our little Wolfie wants to play, huh? We'll see about that," Casey moved her head from left to right, making 'cracks' as the muscles has been stretched and warmed, ready to go. With superhuman speed, she appeared behind me, and shoved me towards the ground, making me kiss it with my jaws.

_I can't let you hurt any more people; _I struggled for a moment, with my legs trying to gain strength so that I could pull myself up, wondering towards myself about the controlling of my powers when my mind made up, "Make me. What can you do, little Wolfie? Your barks worse than your bite, you know."

My golden Egyptian eyes met her blue ones, as I swerved myself so that my chest is facing hers, before letting out a thunderous kick from my hind legs, causing her to land on the wall at the far end, _You asked for it._

Clutching her chest, Casey re-aligned her eyes on me, finding the right balance for her before making the move to stand up, "That's a lot better than before. Gosh, I must have been missing out on a lot," I felt a gust of wind, followed by a blow from Casey's hands as it landed in my stomach, sending me flying over the air, before smashing onto the dining table, with the glass shattering into tiny pieces. I whimpered as the wounds began to heal slowly, agonizing me in pain. There couldn't only be small cuts and bruises; it's going to be bone dislocations as well.

Kids have done this to me before in school, although not as extreme as what I am facing now, making fun of me and bullying me because of my differences in interest with them: Astronomy. I could remember the look on his face as he broke my precious possession, the telescope, smiling, and laughing as loud as possible, as if he wants the whole world to know what cruel thing he just did to me, and that he wants the whole world to praise him for what he have done.

_Don't give up, Ryan! I believe you! _

I flashed back towards one of our 'secrets giving' sessions. We were talking about the bullying I had faced when I was young, about the conflicting emotions coursing through my body:

"_Getting bullied is normal, Ryan," Anastasia smiled as she sought for my hand, bring the both of them up, cupped between hers. Her fingers started moving up and down my knuckles, caressing it softly, "It's just how you look at it that matters."_

_I cocked an eyebrow at her 'conclusion', "Really? I thought bullying is meant to be bad."_

"_Yeah but," she tried catching her rhythm, before continuing on, "it teaches us to be stronger than we really are, to be able to conquer new challenges. Aren't those good things in life?"_

_I nodded obediently at her. I can't believe she is way wiser than me, even though I can be 10 years older than her, "Yeah, That's true, but…" _

"_But is __**not**__ an answer, Mr. Wolfe," Anne started her father's expression again, causing me to laugh, relieving of the awkwardness and the stresses found deep inside of me, "My dad always tells my brother and I about this all the time, and I hope you would keep that in your memory."_

"_Yeah? And what would that be?" my hands tightened on hers, as she placed them on her lap, "Don't give up on whatever you do! Haters are just going to find out the wrong things in you, to bring it out into the world so that you will never find success, but some people will seek you as an inspiration for them. And that's what you're doing to them now, by finding the evidence and putting the culprits in jail." _

_That quote really makes sense. I've thought about it for awhile, before smiling at her genius, "I guess you're right. Thank you Annie," both of us leaned closer towards each other, as I gave a small peck on her forehead, smiling towards myself for being able to take that step, closer to where I've wanted it to become. _

_This happened a few days before she was kidnapped from school. It was just a few days after the kidnapper from the bush tried to take Anne away from me. _

Listening towards the sentence Anne gave to me brought me back to life, mind fully refreshed and full of confidence of what's coming ahead. I got up on my four legs, hurt from the pieces of glass stuck to my body where most of the wounds are, but I don't care. Anastasia is my hope, and I wouldn't let them take it away just like that.

_You're not going to get rid of me THAT easily, _I let out a sly smile, an old Wolfe favorite, as Casey returned hers, a little more sarcastic.

"Begging for more, little Wolfie? Come get me!" she made clicking noises, as if she was calling out for a real dog. To hell with her.

The next moments may seem like a blur towards a human eye, but as for me, it looked as if everything was in slow motion. We were walking around in circles, eye-to-eye, like it was some kind of sumo wrestling preparing for the fight. Both of us were planning tactics in our heads, as well as seeking the opportunity to strike. After a few probing and distractions, Casey took off first, jabbing her hand in the air, towards one of my front left legs, but I've managed to dodge her, moving her towards the side and letting her fall over her own steps. _Clumsy fella, _a snort of laughter left through my nose.

With vampiric speed however, she swerved her body so that her back faces the ground, making no hesitation as she got back up again. I backed a few steps, before doing what natural predators normally do. I pounced on her, landing her back straight towards the cold hard floor. I wanted her to feel what I've felt two minutes ago.

She bared her fangs at me, feeling nothing but intense anger and slight fear as she hissed loudly, but stopped only when I roared back at her, showing my vicious, long and sharp teeth back at her.

Two police officers immediately went towards the two of us, sensing that the threat is half over, and began placing handcuffs on her. This is a special type of handcuff though, as it is designed and built in Japan, and it was used to prevent even the strongest of vampires from breaking it and running away loose. I thank the mystery weapon providing man. Unexpectedly, a pair of arms entwined themselves around my body and a force pulled me up, as if I was a dog again. I let out a cry that came out as a roar and tried to struggle my way through, only to listen to the familiar sounds of Anastasia's uncle, realizing who the arms wrapped around me were, "You've hurt her enough, Wolfe. She's in chains, and she's never getting out of this one. I think it's best for everyone if you go help out H."

He lets me down gently, helping me get on my legs with the least amount of pain as possible. I'm actually surprised that he could carry me even though I'm five times bigger than a normal dog, but then again, so is the time when he smashed me against the wall the other day, "Go now, Wolfe. I'll handle this."

I nodded towards the older vampire, never looking back at the egoistic maniac lying on the floor, before making my way across the hallway and into the one where everyone was trying to go in; the room that Anne was being held captive. My werewolf senses felt as if the house had undergone some earthquakes, letting out silent shakes, causing my legs to pull me faster and faster into the room.

I paused briefly at the door, shocked at the damage it had received. It seems that someone has literally ripped it apart. My mind went back to the one person who could have done it: Her father, Horatio.

_Better be extra careful around this man the next time, he hides his powers _really _well. _

Suddenly, I've found new respect for the man himself. I've always looked up to him as a source of inspiration, to be serving others for justice, but now I realized that he takes his family more seriously than work, surprising me that he's actually a family man.

I must have been dreaming too much, because my head instantly whipped into the room upon hearing Horatio's loud growls and curses being thrown towards Grey, "We meet again, Grey! It's a pity I let you go the first time, well now it's never going to happen again."

I entered through the shattered remains of where the door once was, and ran towards Horatio who had Grey by the collar, "Isn't it weird that I can catch you again and again, and on the same position as well?" not wanting to interfere with their little brutal conversation and angering Horatio even more, I sat down as I watch the red-head threw the vampire across the room, crashing against the Akrisons' 'beloved waterfall'.

As if he could sense me, Horatio turned his head in my direction, back still facing me. His teeth were barred and eyes bright blue, filled with murderous rage, "take Anne with you and leave now. I don't want her and the others to see what I'm about to do to him…"

"But what about you, H?" him looking back at the struggling vampire answers my question immediately, "Don't worry about me; now get Anastasia and the others out of here! NOW!"

I didn't ask another question, and went out towards the shaken crowd, along with a few back-up. I stopped in my tracks, making me slide towards where Anne lay there, moaning in great pain from most, in fact all, of the wounds around her body. Looking at her made my anger flare up again, but I didn't want to waste any time about destroying their house and getting rid of their lives, and so I stood in my hind legs, making sure that I'm comfortable running outside with her on my arms, before coming beneath her and swooping her within my arms.

As I did so, Anne let out a silent sigh, before looking at me, "mm… Ryan."

As if I was hypnotized, I bent closer towards her and started licking the wound of her left cheek, healing it, _Hey there, Anne. Listen to me; you're going to be all right. _

"I know… I will… be," even though she had been tortured immensely and being mocked and spat at, she let out a courageous smile, as if nothing has ever happened to her. My heart broke at the sight of her, abused and almost left to die. Her father must have been teaching her very well, "By the way… how was… Will?"

_Will? Who's Will?_ I thought to myself, but I didn't manage to get the answer because of Horatio's voice echoing the walls, "Mr. Wolfe, leave. NOW."

Making sure that all the club members have escaped from the house of doom, all of us bolted out of there, where paramedics have already prepared their stations, for our injured club members. Alexx was also there, putting on her latex gloves. She approached me immediately when she saw the big bold wolf carrying a teenage girl on his arms, "Bring her over to my side, love. She needs to be medicated immediately, and you need to change back."

Alexx helped me as the both of us lowered the poor girl gently on the bed, making sure that nothing is obstructing us on the way, "All right. I'm just going to check for her veins, and I'll probably give her some infusion. You better change back honey, you reek."

I rolled my eyes, being childish as usual, replying her with a sarcastic tone, _I'm sorry. Must have been out in the woods for too long. I'll change back now._

The Medical Examiner rolled her eyes and let out a stifle as I trotted back into the woods, going back to the words in search of my clothes, running back into the scene after a few minutes, wearing the same shirt and pants as before. The only difference is that it is messy. I didn't care about how I wear and about being neat anymore since Anne could well be going into an unconscious state, "How's she doing, Alexx?"

"I'm afraid she's not going to be conscious in a while. She's sustained too much blunt force trauma to the head as well as the injuries on the back, and lost a massive amount of blood, more than what the poor baby girl could have ever survived with. I've given her an antibiotic to prevent the cells from getting too weak, but she needs to go to the hospital NOW. I need to operate on her immediately," she called for her colleagues as they immediately pushed the bed and hoisted her into the ambulance.

I followed closely behind them, "Can I come along?" in which I received a stern glare and a cross of arms from the lady, "Well, of course you can, Ryan. After all, she's your girlfriend, remember?"

Smiling gleefully, and giving a silent 'Thank you', I went up the stairs and into the awaiting vehicle, before she closed the doors behind the both of us and a paramedic. She made a small smile before closing it, "I'm glad she's still alive."

I duck my head low as the doors met together, producing a 'click' sound,_ I'm thankful that she is. _

"Ryan… mmf..." her voice brought me back into her attention, as I kneeled closer towards her bed, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Her eyes immediately looked down towards the rest of her body; picking up her hand with has been injected with what Alexx gave her earlier, "it… hurts…"

As the ambulance turned off the curb and let out the sirens, I wrapped my hand around her raised one, clenching it together, as my other hand went to soften the creases on her forehead, leaning in to give my soft, awaiting lips, on it, "You're going to be fine, sweetheart. You're in good hands, and that I will be beside you no matter what."

She had a hard time nodding her head, but I understood what she meant, "You'll… still be… with me?"

I nodded my head immediately, feel every ounce of confidence running through me, "Always."

"_**Oh what good it is to live with nothing left to give,  
><strong>__**Forget but not forgive, not loving all you see,  
><strong>__**Oh the streets you're walking on a thousand houses long,  
><strong>__**Well that's where I belong and you belong with me,  
><strong>__**Not swallowed in the sea."**_


	22. Chapter 21

_**A/N: **_**Glad to see that Anne and the others are saved. :) But what about William? Read on to find out. Thank you for your continuous support by reaching this page. You must have read like 20,000 words or more. :'D I'm so touched.**

**_DISCLAIMER: _Hear Ye Hear Ye! Me no take CSI:Miami, YUMGirlAndMoltMan's characters as well as Coldplay lyrics, so you no sue me. Vous comprennez?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21<strong>

Anastasia's POV:

I thought that no one will ever save me when Grey whipped my back repeatedly, with nothing but pure hate and evil in them. My mind couldn't wrap around the fact that William died in front of me, under my nose. He was just laying there in my arms, the two distinct wounds shown in his neck. His eyes just kept staring at me in silence, like he has had the shock of his life, taking his own in the end. I didn't want to back down, for my friends and my family, for what I've been thought to feel ever since I was a little kid:

But all of that went away for this just this moment.

My whole body started shutting itself off of my conscience, knowing that the next few minutes is going to be unbearable, and that I will probably meet my maker soon enough, if I ever have one. I thought all bets are off until the I heard a deafening 'smash' and the door knob looked as if it is gone, before a kick ripped the door out of his hinges, and straight towards Grey's direction, catching him in his own surprise.

The next few minutes it was all in a blur because my body was going into shock, but I kept my eyes open for the major details: two figures fighting in front of me and my mates, and definitely the poking of the wet nose from Ryan, anxiously to see if I'm alive, which to his delight and my relief, I was.

There were flashes as the scenes passed by quickly in front of my eyes, the darkness reigning in and the bright red lights blinking every two seconds. There were faint voices surrounding my ears and my head, but I couldn't make it out. I've forgotten whether I've actually spoke to someone while being half-awake and I'm scared about what I might have told them. Suddenly, someone was touching my hand, feeling their way round, before piercing me with something sharp. I wanted to yell, to roar into the world about the pain that I've been taking so badly, but my body was too tired to scream, or do anything.

I felt the heat and smelt the smoke coming from the surroundings, as if some people are actually setting the building on fire. Then, I felt like I was pushed and I was immediately greeted by bright lights, using my hands to protect myself from the blinding light but found myself blocked by two people. One of them looked like Ryan, a smile coming into my face. He actually cared about me. He saved my life countless of times, but this time, it is the biggest one of all.

I looked back at my hands, feeling for the tube injected inside my hand, before turning it around, mesmerized and frightened by the blood on my hands. Will's blood. My mind wandered back to my senior, sadness and despair coming back to me, just as Ryan's warm hand wrapped around it and tightened his hold, as if telling me not to think about it. His figure drew darker as he edged in and his lips pressed my forehead. I miss those days.

I smiled as I closed my eyes. Now I can relax, because I've felt like I had returned from Hell back to planet Earth, and that nothing bad is going to happen to me.

"_**Those Christmas lights,  
><strong>__**Light up the streets,  
><strong>__**Down where the sea and city meets,  
><strong>__**May all your troubles soon be gone,  
><strong>__**Oh Christmas lights, keep shining on."**_

I must have been dreaming too much because the beeping noise seemed to wake me up. Looking at the heart-rate monitor, I got a little confused. That is the moment when I realized I was still injured, and is just hanging by a string. The beeping monitor was slowing its pace. Am I going to die?

I heard noises in the background, sounds of someone yelling and roaring as loud as he could, before the owner of the voice moved closer to me, his grey eyes turning back into the familiar Egyptian gold, but there was a red slit in the middle of it, trying to speak to me but it only end up in muffles, "Anne…don't…go!…"

It didn't work. The heart rate continued slowing down, and the surgeons have resorted to using electricity. As they charged it up, I felt Ryan's hand on my mine, bringing it up and planting it with kisses, "Please, please… don't leave me." I felt a strong charge passing through me, sending me flying upwards, but I couldn't find the strength to go back up.

I heard a sound as if they are charging it a little higher, rubbing the metal plates with some sort of a gel, before doing it again on me. Instead, I couldn't feel anything, and the sights and sounds are slowly disappearing. Before I gave out my last breath, something sharp jabbed my neck, and it hurts not only because there is one point of contact, but lots at once, as if it is the jaws of an animal.

My whole body instantly felt like it was charged up when I noticed that blood wasn't the only one taking its course around my body. There is a sort of venom inside me, and boy was it painful. There was heat, too much heat, and I got up, taking a big gasp of air.

The group of surgeons looked back at me, faced with nothing but disbelief. Mrs. Woods' was particularly interesting, because her face was the most amusing from all of them.

A pair of arms lovingly wrapped around me, and Ryan's familiar sharp nose met mine, just by the side, "Oh. Thank goodness you're alive. I've missed you, I love you, but I didn't have the courage to tell you that because I'm such a coward," he began rocking me back and forth, as if I was a baby. I missed his touch, and did he just confess to me, all of his feelings deep down inside?

Not wanting to make a drama scene; I backed my face away from his, before contacting my lips against his cheeks, "I love you too… And no, you are not a coward, because you saved my life, and I thank you for it," Ryan purred in delight, as his hands began caressing down my back, an old favorite. He growled when he saw what Grey had done to me, but continued doing it anyway.

Our lovey-dovey moment was interrupted when Mrs. Woods cleared her throat, with the other surgeons leaving the operating room, "Well, I guess we've done our job here. It's time to get the papers checked and Anne cleaned up, coming Mr. Wolfe?"

"For my love, anything," he looked back at me, stealing a kiss from my lips, before turning to look back at the Medical Examiner, who's eyes have been widened, "Man, you do need to slow down, Ryan. Little girl's not going anywhere you know."

Ryan scratched the back of his head, just as Mrs. Woods left the room and the nurses came in with the papers and the hospital garments, prompting me to go take a shower once I've been wheeled to my room, while Ryan handle my paperwork. Ryan let out a big groan, chuffing like a little child, _I HATE paperwork. _

His immaturity caused me to blush, to know that I'm back towards my normal life, and that everything was going to turn out fine. But why does it seem as if I felt guilty of murder? That even though I washed the blood off my hands and body, the emotional wounds is still there, visible to my eyes only. What if people don't understand how I feel, especially Ryan? I don't want them to be sympathetic at me for doing the wrong things.

I've forgotten that Ryan could read my thoughts, because he placed his hands on top of mine after putting the clipboard on the bed, just next to my toes, warming it against the ice cold hospital rooms, "Annie, don't feel bad about the murder, about Will. It's not your fault. It was Grey's doing all along."

"It _is_, Ryan. But don't you get it? Because of me, my club members were hurt, and one of them died, right in front of us. Because of me, Maxwell had to betray us for his parents, his family bond shattered; I don't think I'm any good," a tear ran out of my eye, and trickled down my cheeks. Ryan must have noticed it, because I felt his warm, wet tongue licking the tear away, tasting the saltiness of it.

"It's not your fault, Anne. You're a blessing in your parent's lives. Without you, there's no way they could have been together. And I wouldn't be meeting and marrying the most beautiful, most talented and smartest girl in the world. I have been grateful to have been given you."

It's just those one of those moment where you wanted to go 'Aww', smiling his shy smile again as he lets go of me and picked up the paperwork, writing in details with his left hand. Curious as usual, I've wondered how well he knows me. Maybe a lot more than I do myself.

One of the transporters has arrived and he was standing by the door, arms crossed and looking more like a bodyguard than a transporter. Ryan recognized him immediately, and lowered me down, lying against the bed once more, "What are you doing, Ry?"

"There's someone here who's going to bring you up into your hospital ward. It's best if you lay down for a moment," he gave a few pats on my head, before leaving the bedside to look for the man. Both of them immediately came back and after checking that all of the equipment has been approved and ready to be transported along with me, I was being pushed into the elevator, going up towards my room.

Leaving the elevator, almost everyone I know was loitering about the corridors, though I had to strain my neck by looking down at them. Father was wrapping his arms around his wife, trying to coax her and telling her that everything is fine now. Uncle Eric and Aunt Calleigh were having their one to one moments; Mrs. Woods and Uncle Frank are certainly having a talk, probably about what happened and how they are going about doing the police reports for this. And Aunt Jesse and Uncle Don were snuggling near each other over at the end, near my room, both of them holding a cup of coffee each.

All of them immediately went beside me, but they didn't crowd the corridor for other people to pass by, and for me to safely get inside the room. Mother was holding my hand, teardrops falling onto my shirt as she felt nothing but pure joy, that her daughter was finally away from harm, but she wiped it off her face before the transporter realizes there is a strange drop of blood on my shirt.

Settling in nicely and making sure that all of the equipments are ready and in place, the transporter greets all of us politely before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. When the door clicks, everyone gathered around me, thinking as if I'm some sort of an alien.

Mother was the first one to speak, "Hey there, my little pumpkin. How are you?"

I tried so hard, but managed a faint smile at the end, "I'm good. Thanks mum…"

"You sure you don't want to drink our blood? It helps you to heal quicker," she urged, folding her sleeve so that her wrists are bare.

I shook my head, not wanting to cause any more trouble, "No, thanks mum. I want to heal just like a normal human."

I looked for the familiar, comfortable hand on my bed, but it isn't there, "Ryan?"

"I'm coming, Annie. I just need to pour some water for you," Ryan frantically brought out the glass from the cupboard and began pouring in some mineral water, placing a cover on top of it and running towards my side, "I'm here, sweetheart."

Just having him near me is good enough, but feeling the warmth of his hand as he soothed my cheeks made me feel like I was unstoppable again, being the old Anastasia before any of this happened. Is this what 'falling in love' feels like? "Thanks for caring for… me."

"Anything for you, my lovely lady," he bent down as his warm, wet lips met my cold, dry forehead. The silence of the room quickly broke out into 'Aaw's, "I love you and nothing or no one is going to change that, all right?"

"Hmm…," I closed my eyes, taking in his scent, which has been earthy from his transformation, but still good overall, and "…okay."

"Atta' girl," he pressed his nose against my cheeks and took in a deep breath, _Do you mind if I stay with you tonight? _

_Sure thing, _I winked, letting my eyelashes give his cheeks a tickle before closing my eyes again. He went back to his original position, "Um… H, mind if –".

He was abruptly interrupted by my old man, with an inflicting glare of doom from his eyes, and the crossing of his arms. Eric was doing the exact same thing, as he stood beside the Lieutenant. The room seemed tensed for the moment, before everyone broke into sighs after the Lieutenant gave the nod, "You may, Ryan. I trust you. Make sure you don't break that trust. I don't want to break any of your bones in the end."

I heard a small gulp coming from Ryan's throat, as he looked at them dead on. He knows that whatever comes out of his mouth is always promised, and he didn't want to ask what happened to Grey, "And by the way, you can start calling me father-in-law. I know I'm happy to have you part of the family," father didn't even lift a foot and he was already beside the young wolf, patting him on the back.

Poor Ryan. He's really terrified but he didn't really show it, because he gave out a normal schoolboy smile, still having father's words wrapped around his head. I lazed around, rolling my eyes at the scene, "Come on dad. Don't be… too harsh on him."

"Me? Being harsh? Oh no, silly. I'm just being a good father. And good fathers protect their daughters, do they?" he gave one last look on Ryan, before walking up to me giving me a small cuddle, "We've got to go. I'm feeling kind of hungry, and you need your rest, young lady. We'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

"Hmm… Okay, dad. Good night…" I gave out a genuine smile, something that I've never thought I would do since getting kidnapped by Grey himself.

As per usual, he bent down and pressed his lips against my cheeks, "Good night. We'll see you soon."

One by one, all of them said their goodbyes, since it's almost past midnight and they are really tired from juggling all the cases at once. Uncle Eric didn't really want to leave, but after a few tugs from his beloved wife-to-be, he finally let his guard down and parted to go back home. I don't really want to think about whatever their doing next. The thought sickens me already.

The hospital room sure is peaceful when not many people are around, and it can sure get creepy at night. I'm grateful that Ryan asked whether he could stay the night with me. I don't really know what to do all alone in here, except freaking out a little bit, "You need to wash up, for now. Do you want me to help you or would you like to go towards the bathroom to do it yourself?"

"Hmm…" I made an effort about getting up and I managed to, even without Ryan's help, "I'd like to do it myself… if that's okay."

Ryan was anxiously biting his nails, watching me as I leaned forward to press my foot on the floor, grabbing the infuse along the way and making sure it isn't untangled or anything, "That's all right, babe. Do you need me to accompany you to the bathroom?"

I looked at him, giving him my most awkward look, "All right then, I don't think you want me to. That's fine with me, I'll just wait outside."

I nodded to thank him for being a gentleman. I grew up thinking that all of the boys other than in my family are jerks, but Ryan made me think differently. Reaching the bathroom door safe and sound, I grabbed the infuse from him and pulled it over behind me. Before closing the door, I felt a hand jamming it, "If you ever need me, just knock on the door or scream, okay?"

I just can't believe his overprotection for me. Feeling bad for thinking that way, I tiptoed my way and give him a quick peck, "I'll be fine. Thanks…"

And with that I closed the door behind me.

I began unfastening the strings binding my shirt together. As I did so, I noticed that some of the wounds caused by the whips are beginning to heal. Being a dhampire sure has its upsides. I ran my hand through on my back, near the waists, expecting bumps at every touch.

With the clothes strewn aside, I jammed the sink and filled it with warm water. I picked up a face towel and began soaking it, making sure that I did not touch the tubes in any way. As I wiped my arms and legs, I looked into the mirror and noticed that the cut on my cheeks were healed completely, as if it wasn't there. I raised my free hand to touch it, only to run smoothly across it. I can't believe werewolves have the powers to heal.

After making sure that the blood and dirt from all parts of the body are wiped clean, I unclogged the sink, letting the water run through. I grabbed the hospital gown and undergarments, which have been sitting on top of the toilet bowl, and placed it over me, tying the strings to where it was made needed.

I could have sworn I've spent at least a few minutes in the bathroom, but it seemed like a thousand years had gone by for Ryan, because of him clearly banging his hand on the bathroom door and yelling at the top of his voice, "Hey, Anne. Are you all right in there? Why are you taking so long?"

"I'm coming. I'm sorry. I like to take my time… when I'm in the bathroom," I tried to yell, but only manage a soft voice back at the impatient figure as he taps his foot against the tile floor continuously.

Not wanting to make him wait any longer, I quickly gathered all of the clothes and pushed the door gently forward, earning a sigh from the man himself, "I'm sorry… for making you wait."

Being the attentive and caring person he always is, Ryan immediately stepped into the bathroom and helped me with the dragging of the infuse. What a pain that would be, dragging it everywhere with me, "I've almost have a heart attack thinking about you."

I shrugged, "I'm sorry I've made you worried," earning a small smack from his lips, at the back of my neck, just near my ear, wrapping his arms around my body while being conscious about the tube connected to my hand.

"That's okay. You always made me feel that way, and to be honest, I like that kind of feeling," his lips were felt to make a curve as he smiled for a second, his warm breath overpowering my senses, before gently nibbling my ear.

"That's very sadistic. You liking fear. Mmm…," my sarcasm must have been heard pretty clearly, because the next moment I was cradled in Ryan's arms as he carried me towards the hospital bed, one hand on the metallic pole. He pushing each and every side around me on the bed after laying me down, making sure that nothing is obstructing and that I am laying down comfortably. He crossed his arms and took a step back, admiring me as if I am an art piece.

I shook my head, giving him the 'What the Heck' look, "What are you looking at?"

"Hmm? I'm just thinking about how I'm spending the night close to you," he looked down on the floor and walked back and forth. Occasionally, he would look up towards the ceiling, before he hung his head low. He doing that cracks me up, turning his attention back at the laughter.

"Why are you laughing? Do you have anything against me?" he contradicted my laughter, with his deep, hearty one.

"I'm just wondering, Mr. Wolfie. Why don't you sleep on top of me?" I smiled, trying so hard so that he wouldn't get the wrong message, patting the spot on top of me.

"How do I get on top of you—, oh," he let out an evil smirk as he ran into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. I heard a few rips and I thank him for not roaring after this transformation, for fear of the other patients and nurses. A moment later, the familiar black wolf came out, shaking its body, trying get rid of the extra dust around him. He let out a few snorts, before raising his front left paw and was trying to scratch his ear. For a while, he looked more like a cat more than a wolf.

I've completely forgotten he could read my thoughts, because he stopped licking his paws, hanging it in midair, while glaring at me with his Egyptian gold eyes, _hey. I'm not THAT much of a kitty cat, all right? _

The bold wolf made sure that nothing is in its way between itself and the bedside, before it pounced up, letting out a silent whine at my discomfort as he landed on my feet. My hand reached out for his head and gently patted it, "That's okay. I'm fine."

Again, the wolf looked around for any hazards, before finally slumping right on top of me, _that felt so much better. Why didn't I think of this before?_

I leaned forward and cuddled the furry head near mine like a massive teddy bear; I bent in for the kiss in between his ears, which seemed to flop in all sorts of directions as he panted heavily. The wolf let out a silent whine of delight, "It doesn't matter. You're right here with me and that's all that matters."

The wolf opened its jaws out wide, before slumping back, rubbing itself against me, feeling contented just the way it is _that's all that matters._

His eyelids drooped, as the young wolf slipped into his slumber. My eyelids soon followed, and I found it hard to keep it open.


	23. Epilogue

_**A/N: **_**Last Chapter of my novel. Sad to see you go, but we have to part. May we meet soon enough. :) It's been a great pleasure writing this for NaNoWriMo 2011, and I can't wait to write another novel in 2012. I'll be able to have my laptop again, and I'll probably be in Singapore continuing my studies. Wish me luck in becoming a veternerian scientist and a _National Geographic _Photographer. **

**_DISCLAIMER: _I'm a good person of the society. Why the bloody hell would I steal? (Even though they are really tempting). All rights go to CBS for CSI:Miami, YUMGirlAndMoltMan for her/his characters, and Coldplay for their meaningful lyrics. :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue:<strong>

Ryan's POV (10 years later):

I opened the door towards my locker, giving out a silent 'Yeah!' as the working hours are finally over. My mind wandered back to my beautiful wife back at home, cooking her famous lasagna, with our precious little daughter whom we called Artemis. I don't really have a thing for baby names, so I let my dear beta choose it. Turns out the name comes from a Greek legend, _what a coincidence_.

I could distinctively hear Travis' unique British Accent as he walked into the room, "Anyone interested in some pints for the night?"

I could hear Walter's manly voice just beside me, as he too, opened up his locker, "Sure, why not? I'll go. Ryan, what about you?"

I sighed, missing the days when I was a bachelor, "I'm sorry, but I've got to be home."

"What's the rush? You're a big bloke already!" Travis laughed, but abruptly stopped when I showed him a gold ring around my wedding finger, "I have a wife and child waiting for me. Does **that** answer your question?"

Everyone glared back at Travis, blaming him for asking such an obvious question, as he uttered a small 'sorry', "That's all right," I smiled as I closed the locker door, trying to keep him happy, and not feeling too bad about it, "I get that all the time from most people. It must have been my age that fooled you, huh?"

"I guess it is," Walter laughed, while Natalia walked into the locker room, "May I tag along?"

"Sure you can, my lovely! Everyone is welcome to join in the celebration," Travis raised his arms, signaling what he had said. I decided to use this opportunity to break away from the circle, taking a few steps backwards before turning around, raising my arm in the air and waving back at them, "I've got to go, bye guys."

I didn't manage to see their reactions or their actions, but I heard a "Bye Ryan!" cried out in unison, as I pulled the lever on the door and walked out of the room. By the time I turned right and entered the main alley, I thought I felt a cold brush at the side of my body as a familiar Cuban came into view, "What's up, Wolfe?"

"Nothing, Eric. You do realize we're one big family now, right?" I looked back at him, shaking my head like I always do when I like to make fun of someone. However, it backfired on me, as Eric did his half-smile in victory, "And you do realize it means that I'm your Uncle-in-law and you should have more respect for me?"

I rolled my eyes, _that's what's it's going to be, old man. _

_Hey, I'm listening, and I'm standing right here, next to you, _his index finger jabbed my arm, letting out a silent hiss along with it. I backed out and raised my hand in defense, as if I was sorry for the joke that I just said, "All right, all right, I'm sorry, _Uncle_ Eric," I emphasized on the word Uncle, just for him to hear the sarcasm lingering on my tongue. It came along as an amusement for him.

"You know that we're going to have a family dinner together tonight, right?" Eric elbowed me in a brotherly manner just as Calleigh joined in the little gathering, with a smile on her face as she gently rubbed her now bloated belly.

I laughed, a little annoyed because of him not being able to trust me, "As always, Uncle. As always."

"All right then," he chuckled, wrapping his arms on Calleigh's waist, even though she herself didn't really want it, "We'll see you later. I can't wait to see Artemis and Anastasia again."

"Of course you do," the curve on one side of my lips raised in a semicircular form as the three of us reached the elevator, "I'll see you guys then."

"_**Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions,  
><strong>__**Oh let's go back to the start,  
><strong>__**Running in Circles, coming up tails,  
><strong>__**Heads on a science apart."**_

Anastasia's POV:

Thoughts shifted through my head as if I'm flipping through a book; a book about my life, about the events that happened ten years ago.

_In one flash, it was when Casey Akrisons kidnapped me, and another was when the both of them tortured me in their little lair, stabbing me on the knee. I looked at the corner to see their two children, Maxwell and Britney, who only stood there, helpless in this situation. It's their parents after all. _

_A boy killed in front of me, an innocent boy. He was just unlucky that he is part of the club. He fell into my arms after taking the force from the stab that Grey gave to him with his hand, for fighting back against his words. He never meant to die._

I looked into my hands, stopping the continuous swirl and dropping the wooden spoon unto the pot, to which I was stirring the corn soup from, remembering it being covered with the blood from him, _I could have saved him, but I can't. He died because of me, because of who I am, because of my family. It's my entire fault._

"Mummy? Are you OK?" my little angel popped through the doors into the kitchen, with a drawing of our family. I knew that she was about to show it to me and her father when he returns home from work.

I turned off the gas stove, feeling satisfied that the corn soup has reached its optimum temperature and texture, before turning around and squatting down in her direction so that we could see eye to eye, holding out my hands as she ran up towards me, the ends of her dress flowing behind her as she ran, before the both of us met, "I'm fine, honey. Just making sure the soup is resting. You know how sleepy Mr. Soupy could be."

As we broke of the embrace, Artemis cocked her head and looked at me, eyes changing from a dark brown to an Egyptian gold colour just like her father, before being back to the normal brown, "Mummy's lying again. It's not your fault, please don't be sad," just like her grandfather, she caught me red-handed.

I ran my hand down the hem of her dress, soothing it of the rough edges. _I can't believe I could come this far. She's beautiful, just the way I want it. The way we want it._

"Want what mummy? Mummy, are you crying? Please don't cry," her mouth was carved into an 'O' as she reached out her hand, touching the tear that escaped my eyes and run down my cheeks.

I smiled, being grateful for a caring daughter like always, as I wiped the tear away at the brush of the fingertips, standing back up straight. I placed both hands on each of her shoulders, "Honey, I'm fine, okay? Don't worry about mummy. Mummy's going to be okay," I motioned for her to leave the kitchen, "Why don't you get ready for grandmamma and grandpapa?"

She was a diligent and disciplined girl, so she would never disobey me. She nodded in silence, though feeling some concern for her mother, and went out into the living room. I placed the pot where the corn soup was in on the marble tile, supported with a cloth so as to maintain the heat, before placing a new pot on the stove. I walked towards the refrigerator and got out a jug of blood, and sighed as the hallucinations come back to me, throwing me memories like never before:

_The blood in my hands, and on the floor. Mine as well as others. So this is what 'war and rage' feels like._

_I thought hope was lost, but it flickered when the door bursts open to the sound of my father, "GREY! I'm here just as you wished! What do you want with my daughter this time?"_

_I heard them bicker word for word, each of them not backing down without the fight. My eyes could not grasp how quick they are throwing punches and kicks at each other, invisible to the human eye. But finally, father found Grey's weak spot and sent him flying and crashing against the wall. The angry look on his face, he looked like a _monster_, a stranger which I did not recognize. I never knew what he did to Grey after I left. He never told me what had happened to him._

I felt a set of arms wrapped around my waist as I poured the contents into the pot, "I'm home, my lovely," I smiled at his voice and scent as he kissed me on my neck, where he bit me every single day before he goes off to work or is parting me for the moment. It feels very comforting that he is near me again, protecting me from dangers the world could offer. Seems that I've forgotten all about the freshly made wound due to the heat of the moment, or maybe because I've gotten used to it. After all, he's the alpha of the pack, and I'm the beta.

"You know," his nose rubbed against the back of my neck, slowly but smoothly going up. He knows that I love it, as much as he does doing it, "Our daughter is getting worried for you. Are you sure you're all right? Is the past bothering you again?"

I rotated the knob, hearing a click before the fire starts, before settling into the right amount of heat, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," I pouted at him, in hopes that he would leave me alone. However, as always, he nuzzled against my neck and nibbled my ears, expressing deep concern, "Don't lie to me, my love. We're strongly connected, aren't we? I could hear your every thought even though we are far away from each other. I can't stop thinking about you even though I am in the fields."

I sighed, thinking that too much CSI work has gone inside his head, always searching for clues, just like me, "All right, Mr. Wolfe. They do seem to bother me sometimes."

He spun me around, being oblivious to the cooking pot behind the both of us, "You know we could get help if you'd like. See a psychiatrist or something," his eyes were twinkling with protection for his wife.

"Hey, I'm fine. It's all over anyways. Besides," I hugged him, tightly like a life line, before letting go with a gentle peck on his right cheek, right beneath his eyes, where his 'bags' were, "You are here for me, and that is all that matters."

"I'll always be there for you, sweetheart. Where would I be without you?" he smiled, as he directs his index finger to the same spot where I kissed him, "And would you mind doing that to me again? I think I kind of missed it."

The both of us laughed just as we heard footsteps from outside the door, "Oh, look at the time. They must already be here," Ryan looked down at his watch, before pressing his lips against mine, matching with equal softness and heat, his sweet scent lingering around my lips even though we stopped, "I'll help you with the utensils while you warm the blood, yeah?"

"Okay," I smiled at him, my heart beating with pleasure, like it was our first kiss all over again, as I turned my attention back to the pot. _He was my best friend, and now he's beside me for the rest of our lives. _

_I'll always will be, _Ryan winked back at me with a little sense of mischief, as he got out the plates and the cutlery from the bottom left hand drawer, before turning to leave the kitchen, _Thank you for being a part of my life._

_And you too. _

I poured the now warmed blood back into the jug, before bringing each of the food outside towards the table. Ryan must have let my family members in, because father and mother were already at the dining table, deep in their own conversation, while Uncle Eric and Aunt Calleigh, together with Artemis, just entered the dining room, laughing over some jokes that he once shared with me, which was now shared with my daughter.

With the dinner table set, all of us sat down on our respective places, and I began pouring the blood into the glasses, each one for my family members, when I heard a "Wait."

"What are we waiting for, grandpapa Horatio?" Artemis looked up at him, cocking an eye on him for a second. Father gave a slightly cheesy grin, as his lips met Artemis' forehead, pulling her hair back gently, "Aren't we missing some people?"

"Who grandpapa?" just as she asked, the doorbell rang. Ryan, being as polite and gentlemanly as ever, got out of his seat and went to get the door. He came back with a gigantic, muscular grey wolf, and a lean brown wolf. Both of them are Ryan's parents and my parents-in-law. He pointed towards our common bedroom, the one used for guests who happen to stay in our place should they wish to, "Your clothes are in the cabinet at the back corner. Anne has sorted it out for you guys, so you should find everything you need. It's great that you took some time to come here and be with us for dinner tonight."

We waited patiently as the wolves nodded at Ryan, before heading inside the room without any second glances. After a few minutes, Don and Jesse Wolfe walked out of the door, with Don wearing a crisp black shirt and some jeans, his usual look, whereas Jesse dawned on a black dress, one that I've bought for her and kept it in the cabinet along with her clothes. She's seemed to have caught the message and I could tell that she was very ecstatic, satisfied with just the dress itself.

Our little girl must have been in for a shock, because she squealed in excitement, yelling "Grandpapa and grandmamma Wolfe!" before springing out the seat and running out towards them. Don caught her just in time, carried her up, and cradled her like a baby, "There's our little girl. How's it going sweetheart?"

"I'm great, grandpapa. I drew mummy, daddy, and me today," she squirmed her way out, forcing Don to place her down gently, as she disappears into the living room, returning with the paper she showed me and probably her father before-hand. Don, being a lovable and caring person that he is, gave a little 'Ooh!' in anxiety as he looked at the paper, and patted Artemis' back as he returned the paper to her, "that's a very nice drawing you have there, Artie," he _loves_ calling her that, and he is the only person who is allowed to give her that nickname, says so the girl herself, "you sure do have a talent for drawing."

"Thank you Grandpapa Don!" she smiled with glee, the innocence of the child never ceasing to wonder. She grabbed hold of Don's hand, leading them towards the dining table, and showed them their seats, before skipping her way back to hers. _What a sweet little girl, _I thought to myself.

As dinner commences, I scooped up some of the lasagna and placed it on Don's bowl, followed by Jesse's, earning a little 'Thank You' from the both of them. On the contrary, Ryan distributed the glasses to everyone in my family, accept for Calleigh, who was still human, but bearing a child. Uncle Eric and her child. Afterwards, I placed some lasagna on Ryan's plate, before finally Artemis'. He rubbed his hand back and forth quickly, face full of delight, and constantly licking his lips, "Hmm. Anne sure does make the best lasagna's in the entire universe," prompting a laugh from the whole family.

As we nibbled on to our dinner, Jesse got the ball rolling, "Anne, did you buy this dress for me?"

I placed the fork and spoon down, taking hold of the glass of plain water before sipping it and putting it down again, "Yeah I did. I thought you might need a little something. What's wrong? Is it too small for you? Did you not like it? I could buy another one for you, if you'd like."

"No, no, no, sweetheart," she shook her head, trying to clear me of the misunderstanding, "The dress is perfect for me. I do love it a lot," she grinned as she paused for a moment, taking a slice of the lasagna and popping it inside her mouth, before looking back at me, "How do you know I like a certain dress?"

"Well," I mischievously eyed at Ryan and he playfully elbowed me, "Ryan told me what you like, and I thought I should do it, after all that you did for me, and my family."

An 'Aww' explicated throughout the room, before it broke out in laughs. "So," Father brought the group back into attention, "How's Mac by the way?"

"He's doing fine, H. He sends his regards," Don took a bite of the lasagna, the same feeling every time he took a bite. It's as if he loves it, probably craving more, "New York has the lowest criminal rate at this period, so far. But as for our supernatural buddies, not yet."

"I see," Father looked out into the distance, swirling his glass containing blood, before looking back into his beloved family members around the dinner table, "Maybe I should pay a visit sometime. I'm starting to miss the city."

"I'm sure the team would welcome you with open arms," a famous 'Don-smile' headed for his direction.

After a few more conversations and eating as well as drinking, everyone helped out to wash the dishes, while all the more telling me to take a break after all the cooking I've done. I hesitated at the beginning, but I let them do it. After all, what can I say to a bunch of strong-headed people even though I'm the co-owner of this house?

I was looking out into the forest, leaning against the balcony, letting my mind wander around, when an arm slung around my shoulders, "It sure is a nice night out here, isn't it, my lovely?" Ryan let out a silent growl of pure enjoyment, as he edged nearer, letting my lips meet his again. He seems to really love it, enjoying the life that he has been living. Out of the blue, he pulled my shirt slightly open, as he began examining the bite mark he left on my left shoulder, which seemed to leave a scar, running his fingers through it, not planning to press down, in case it hurts.

"Aww, shucks, it left a scar. I'm sorry, my Annie. I didn't mean to. Why am I so careless?"

Sometimes he over thinks too much, and it annoys me further when he blames himself for it. To get him to stop feeling sorry for himself, I leaned my head against his chest, rubbing on it as I continue taking in the scenery, _that's all right. At least more people now know that I'm yours, right?_

_I think so, my love,_ he made sure that his shoulders weren't stiff so that I wouldn't feel strains on my neck, _does it hurt?_

_Nope, it doesn't, _I let out a tiny grin, _and it'll be all right after awhile. It's not a big deal. _

_If you say so, my love. _I thought I heard a little 'snuff' as if he blows his nose, _How's work?_

_Not bad, I guess. Being able to meet new animals, and help them in every way, it's been an amazing experience. In fact, they weren't even scared at the fact that I'm a dhampire-werewolf! Either I am being too kind to them lately, or they have very good instincts about creatures like us. And as for the clan, all is good. Father introduced me to the members and they were very happy that I'm helping to strengthen the bonds between vampires and werewolves. _

The both of us laughed. I know heads will turn in our direction from inside the house, but we didn't care. _What about you?_

_Oh, you know the usual. We managed to get another thug behind bars. Did you know the gruesome murders he did? He kidnaps little girls and killed them, amputating them on the spot. I could have, and would have, killed him in the interrogation room, but I let the humans take him into justice instead, _he rubbed his eye bags with his thumbs, soothing it, being an old habit of his. _As for the pack, they seemed to be listening to my orders for now, maybe it's because they heard about my _"heroic incident"_, the one about me saving you._

_Well, that certainly reminds me of something _I _know._

_I know, sweetheart, _he wrapped his arms around me. Even though I don't really need it because now that the temperature of my blood is higher than of an average human, his presence certainly calms me of any pain and stress that could make me insane, even from the simple things that happened daily, _I promise to take care of our daughter, and to protect you as well, till death. But since you're part dhampire, part werewolf that did ease some of the strains on my back._

We were enjoying in each other's presence, grasping hold of what we told each other, keeping it inside our hearts for a better memory, when we heard the sound of a wolf ululating. It was a call to meet, and it sounds urgent. Ryan lets go off me, before placing both hands on the balcony, closing his eyes while concentrating on listening towards the sounds, "Anne, it's time. They are calling out for our help," he turned to look back at me, before standing up straight yet again and reaching out his hand, a sign of invitation, "Shall we?"

"We shall," I reached out and grabbed his hand, before the both of us went back inside the house. It's time we grow up and do what we have been destined to do.

_What we have been destined to do._


End file.
